To win or to lose
by Lover of Seto Kaiba
Summary: {Finished}Seto and Serenity meet in the hospital. The pairing is obvious. But when Joey finds out, he tries to keep them apart. Seto comes up with a plan, and now it's up to Serenity: Will she choose to be with Seto, even if it means leaving Joey behind?
1. The accident

Chapter 1 The accident

I do not own Cartoon Network or the awesome show that is Yugi-Oh, which is a real shame, because if I did, my life would be complete. But since I don't, and my life is far from complete, I'll just write and hope that someone likes my stories. So, I bring you, Chapter 1:

Seto Kaiba slumped against the seat, exhausted from the long day of working at Kaiba Corp. After snapping at the driver to take him home (where else would he want to go?) he pulled his lap top out of his briefcase and started working on the documents he'd saved on there. Even after leaving the office, he could always find something that needed to be done.

_"I need a vacation."_ he thought to himself as he ran his hand through his chocolate brown hair. (I just love his hair.) _"I'm wearing myself out."_

"No time to think of that now." he said aloud, as if it would give him more motivation to finish. "Too much work to be done, and not enough time." Oh, God, there was never enough time anymore. Christmas was just around the corner, and the demands on Kaiba Corp. were astounding. It was after midnight (Think of how the limo driver must feel!) and still there was so much to be done. Mokuba was probably asleep by now, unless he snuck out of bed and into the living room to watch the Saturday night anime line-up on Cartoon Network on the big screen T.V.

Seto ignored all the love letters that his admirers had sent him (how did they get his email address _again_?) and looked through the letters from other companies that wanted to buy Kaiba Corp's merchandise. Of course, it would be absolutely ridiculous to do so, seeing that Seto could make three times as much as they were offering by selling the items himself.

Snow flew in every which direction outside, but Seto was too busy with his computer to notice, and even if he did, it wouldn't have mattered. He was too eager to get home to bother worrying about the weather, which was getting worse by the minuet.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir, the weather's getting pretty bad. Maybe we should pull over until the storm passes." the driver said through the intercom. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so apprehensive about it, lets just go on. I'm thoroughly fatigued, and it's been a long day." He said harshly. 

"For you and me both, jerk" the driver said after turning the intercom off. You can't blame him for being angry, you would be too if you had to drive Seto Kaiba around and put up with him for a living. He was still grumbling about how much he had to put up with just to get paid, so maybe that's why he missed seeing the patch of ice in the road.

Suddenly, Seto was flung forward into the window separating him and the driver, (should've been wearing a seat belt!) throwing his computer from his lap to the floor. His limo was skidding out of control as he regained his senses.

"What the h-" he didn't finish, because the car, sliding on the ice at around fifty miles per hour, had a head on collision with an oncoming semi truck in the next lane, killing the driver instantly and knocking Seto out cold.

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Sorry I deleted my other story, I just couldn't get anywhere with it. It wasn't that good anyway, and it was only chapter one. Please review, but go easy on me. I know it may be hard, but please try to resist the urge to tell me how terrible my writing is because I already know. And I promise that the next chapter will be much longer.


	2. Out of the darkness and into the Light

Chapter 2 Out of the darkness and into the light

In no way, in this dimension or the next, do I own the awesome show that is Yugi-Oh. (no matter how much I wish) 

Serenity Wheeler opened her eyes, but shut them again immediately with a gasp. After all the years of darkness, the sudden burst of light was a shock, but it was more than she could've ever asked for. Putting her hand over her eyes, she shielded them from the almost blinding lights overhead as she sat up and opened her eyes slowly. 

Joey was at her side the instant he saw she was awake. "Serenity!" he said, putting his arm around her. "Are you okay?"

Slowly, Serenity removed her hand and then opened her eyes, allowing herself to adjust to the lighting. She turned and looked at Joey…yes, she actually _looked _at him. "Joey…" she breathed "I can see you…"

"What?!" Everyone was beside her in a second. .

"Can you guess who I am?" Yugi asked, sitting by her. She smiled.

"Yugi. I can tell by your soft voice…hmm…I always pictured you with black hair…and taller." She said, grinning. 

"Yeah, well…" He shrugged. 

"Hi Serenity." Tea said. "It's me, Tea. Are you feeling okay?"

"Well, actually, I'm a little woozy, but other than that, I'm fine." 

"That's understandable. You're probably on a lot of medicine. Do you want to open your gifts now" Tristen asked. 

"Oh! You got me gifts! You didn't have to!" she said as Tea handed a bag to her.

"Nah, it was nothing. We all got you something."

"So go ahead, open it already!" Tristen said eagerly. She dug through the paper and pulled out a soft, rainbow, plushie teddy bear that was holding a little heart with chocolates inside.

"Oh Tea!" she said, smiling at her. "It's so sweet! I love it! Thank you!"

"Here's mine." Tristen said, setting a flat box on her lap. She opened it and had to close her eyes to keep from crying when she lifted the paint set up to show everyone, fully realizing how much more she would be able to do now.

"Tristen," she said, trying not to cry "thank you. This means so much to me." he walked into her embrace, his face turning red. 

"This is from me." Yugi said, placing a bag on her bed. It turned out to be a sketch diary to draw in. She smiled and hugged him. 

"Thank you, Yugi." she said, letting him go. "These things mean a lot to me."

"Don't forget this." Joey said, placing a smallish box in front of her. She opened it. It was a beautiful book with a gold cover and, in curvy writing, it had _Serenity _etched into it. "It's a diary," He explained, "and on each page is a picture of us together when we were younger. I had it made myself from this guy at the book store."

"Joey…" she hugged him "Thank you, everyone. You really didn't have to do this."

"Yes we did." They all said smiling.

"Oh my God!" Mai ran in, out of breath. "Did you hear?…Oh, hello Serenity."

"What? Hear what?"

"They admitted a guy last night who was in a car accident!"

"So…I'm sure they get that all the time…"

"It was Kaiba!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Seto~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Seto groaned and opened his eyes. "What…What happened?" he asked, putting his hand to his pounding head. "Where am I?"

"Big Brother!" Mokuba ran to him. 

"Mokuba? Where are we? What am I doing here?"

"You don't remember?" He asked, astonished. "You were in a limo accident."

"You know…now that I think about it, I do remember…God, I'm going to fire that driver when I get out of here. Are we in the hospital?"

"Yes. But the driver…" Mokuba looked at the ground. "…he didn't make it. You hit a semi truck and he died."

"Huh?" Seto tried to sit up, but the pain was so bad that he fell back, dizzy and nauseous. "He's dead? Ugh…" closed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's three in the afternoon. You've been sleeping all day."

"What?!" Seto's heart jumped. "I've got to get to work!" A nurse walked in, carrying a needle.

"Well, good morning Mr. Kaiba, or should I say, good afternoon. I'm glad to see you're awake. We weren't sure if you were going to make it for a while there. Now, I've got to give you this medicine. She went over to him. "This might hurt a little."

"No duh." he said under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." he said as she poked the needle in his arm. His bit his lip, feeling the medicine actually run up into his arm, almost numbing it but not quite. (for all those who have never had an I.V before, this is what it actually feels like. *shudders at the thought*)The nurse taped the needle down and started to walk out.

"Wait! You're going to just leave it in there?" Seto cried out.

"Yes, that's how an I.V works, Mr. Kaiba." Just as she was about to open the door, it was flung open, and three people (Yugi Mai, and Tea) rushed in, almost knocking the nurse over.

"Yugi!" Mokuba cried, running to him. 

"Hey, Mokuba." he said, smiling at him, but then his face turned grim at the sight of the older Kaiba. His face was almost completely blanched of color, and his face was badly bruised. (aw, poor Seto! Sorry, girls, I had to make him pitiful.) "Kaiba, are you okay?"

"Well it depends on your definition of okay."

"Well, how do you feel?"

"Hmm…my head hurts, my brother's worried sick, I'm stuck in a hospital instead of being at work, there's still a ton of things to be done, especially since all the work I did yesterday was saved in a file on the computer that was destroyed along with the car, my driver's dead, but even if he wasn't, that wouldn't matter because my limo's crashed, so I'd have to say…bad."

"Oh…"

"Well, uh." Tea looked at the floor. "At least you get a break from working."

"Yeah, and I'm really enjoying it. If I wanted a vacation, I would go to Jamaica, not to a hospital." 

"Excuse me, but you really shouldn't be bothering Mr. Kaiba right now. He's just woken up, and…he's a little irritable."

"I heard that." Kaiba said. Yugi smiled at the nurse and whispered back:

"He's always irritable."

"Heard that too!" Kaiba said, closing his eyes. 

"Don't worry, Kaiba, we're leaving. We just came to make sure you're okay. Let's go." Tea said. They walked out of his room, leaving Seto, Mokuba and the nurse. 

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Now then, do you see that little button right below this message that says "submit review"? Well, since you've finished chapter 2, press it and tell me what you think. Thanx to "The six of Hearts" and "DarkMagicianGurl524" for reviewing my last chap, you made my day (seriously!)


	3. Tristen?

Chapter 3 Tristen?

Hey everyone, I'm back! I try to update every day because I'm utterly obsessed with writing and Yugi-Oh. Right now, I'm listening to the music from Kingdom Hearts (which I also do not own) and a really upbeat song in Japanese is playing, but none of you probably care about that, and I don't blame you, so I'll just get on with the thanks. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I love hearing what you say about my stories, especially when you're being as nice as you are! Seriously, you're all awesome! Well, I'm going to stop wasting your time with my mindless jabbering and let you go on and read the story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Well, I guess everyone already knows I don't own Yugi-Oh, but just in case there are any stupid money-loving lawyers out there, I'll just say it again so they won't sue me for every penny that I own: I DO NOT own Yugi-Oh!!!! There, happy? (By the way, I was just joking about the lawyers thing, hehe…)

~Serenity~

"How's Kaiba?" Tristen and Joey asked when they got back to the room. Yugi shrugged and sat in the chair. 

"The same as always."

"Acting like a real creep, I'll bet." Tristen muttered. " What? I'm right, aren't I?" he said when they all looked at him. 

"Well, he's been through a lot. Did you know his driver was killed?" Yugi said, somewhat defensively. 

"Ah, Yugi, you need to stop being such a nice guy and stop standing up for that jerk." Joey said. 

"Well, actually, he was in a pretty bad condition." Mai said, looking at Joey. "Nothing critical, mind you, but he still looked pretty beat up."

"Humph! Well, I still say he probably got what was coming to him." Joey said. "How'd he treat you?"

"He didn't even seem to care that we were there to see him." Tea said, heatedly. "I agree with Joey for once, he definitely deserved this. And I don't think he looked too bad. Mostly cuts and bruises really. No broken bones or anything like that."

"So, this is the Seto Kaiba that you wrote about in all of your letters, Joey?" Serenity asked, listening intently. 

"Yeah, it's him. Geeze! What luck, huh? How long is he supposed to be in for, Yugi?"

"I don't know, I didn't think to ask. But by the looks of him, I'd say a little while." 

"Ugh, can we please get off the subject? We went and made sure that he's okay, so let's please talk about something else." Tea said disgustedly. "He gets enough attention as it is." So, their conversation veered in the direction towards Serenity. 

"How are you feeling? Do you need us to fluff you pillow? Get you something to eat? Anything?" Tristen asked, taking her hand. 

"Um…no thanks…" She said, smiling. Tea and Mai glanced at each other, aware of something that Serenity was completely oblivious to. 

"Hey, why don't we go get something to eat from the cafeteria?" Mai said, standing up. 

"That sounds like a good idea!" Tea agreed, smiling. 

"Yeah, I'm feeling kind of hungry myself," Tristen said.

"Oh! No, you have to stay with Serenity, you know, just incase she needs anything." Mai said quickly, casting a quick glance at tea, who nodded. "Oh yeah, Tristen. We'll bring you something back, I promise. Can we get you anything, Serenity?"

"No, not really. I don't think I could stomach very much. What about you, Joey?"

"Uh, I'm a little hungry. If they have it, get me a cheeseburger, maybe a lasagna if they're serving it today (yes, they do serve lasagna at a hospital cafeteria, but I've never eaten it), an apple, a soda, and for dessert, a big cookie, some chocolate covered raisins, ooh! cake if they have it, and…well, that should be it." 

"Er…okay, we'll just bring you a burger. Are you sure you don't want anything, Serenity?"

"Yes, I'm fine, really."

"Hey, if you're going to bring the food up, could ya just go ahead and order something for me too?" Joey asked. "I'll have-"

"You're coming with us!" Tea and Mai said, grabbing him by the arm before they both glared at Yugi, who backed away from them. 

"Hey, I'm coming! I can take a hint!" He said, backing out the door.

"What's up with them?" Tristen asked after they had left, not even realizing that they new how he felt about Serenity. He was sitting on the bed beside her, looking at the floor. 

"I don't know." Serenity shrugged her shoulders and laid back against her pillow. 

………………………………....................Outside of the door………………………………........

Mai put her hand over Joey's mouth and put her ear against the door next to Tea's. Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes. 

"Guy's this isn't right, we shouldn't be doing this!" he practically whined. 

"SHHH!!!" both the girls turned and gave him a glare. "Do you want them to hear you?!" Mai whispered harshly. 

"Why is it any of your business what goes on between them?" 

"Yugi, don't you see it? The way Tristen looks at her? You can't be that dense!"

"Yeah!" Tea added "And wouldn't they make the cutest the cutest pair?" 

"I don't know! I'm a guy! Guys don't think of stuff like that!" Yugi exclaimed, and Tea covered his mouth with her hand to keep him silent.

"Hush!" She said. "There has to be a way to get them together!"

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Never fear, Serenity & Seto lovers, the next chapter will get a lot more accomplished, and I promise to have it up by tomorrow. I just had to put this little bit in for later. Also, it'll feature more Kaiba. So, bear with me, the action will start up soon!!!

See that little button down there? The one that says "submit review"? Well, press it, and tell me what you think!


	4. meeting

Chapter 4 Meeting

Disclaimer: Ah, yes, that lovely time of the day when I get to tell everyone my disclaimer so I don't get sued. Here's the list of everything I don't own: (clears throat) I don't own a car, I don't own a house I don't…oh, wait, wrong list. Here we go. I don't own Yugi-Oh…okay, that's it. Enjoy the story. 

~ Seto ~

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba." A tall doctor walked in. "We need to take a few of your vitals. Let me see your wrist."

"I don't know why you insist on keeping me here. I'm fine, and I've missed work today." He said as the doctor took his pulse.

"Mmhmm…." The doctor said distractedly, looking at his watched as he held Seto's wrist. "Well, now let's check your heartbeat." He pulled out the stethoscope and Seto sat up.

"Didn't you listen to me? I'm Seto Kaiba, you know, of Kaiba Corp.!"

"Yes, I know that Mr. Kaiba. Pretty much everyone knows that by now. But if you must know, we're going to have to hold you for a couple of days."

"What? Why?!"

"Well, Mr. Kaiba, you're not in a good enough condition to be released yet. Normally, these injuries would be bad enough, but you're body's unusually stressed, and it's going to take a while before we can release you."

"Ugh!" He shouted. "Well how long before I _can _go?"

"I'm not sure, but you'll need to relax and let your body heal."

"What's to heal?! None of my bones are broken, I'm not suffering any brain trauma, what reason do you have to keep me here?! Watch," He threw the blankets off of him and started to get out of bed.

"Mr. Kaiba!" The doctor shouted.

"See! I can even walk!" He stood up rather quickly and started to try to walk, but the room seemed to jerk sideways and he stumbled into Mokuba.

"Mr. Kaiba! You have to stop this! You're going to hurt yourself!" The doctor said as he helped him back into the bed. "You're on a lot of medication, and I've already told you the reason you're staying. Now lay down and relax."

Seto, looking defeated, glared and him. "I still say that I should be able to leave. Mokuba, don't you agree with me?"

"Uh…" Mokuba looked at the doctor and then back to his brother. "I really don't want to get into the middle of it." He said, sitting in a chair. 

"Okay, fine." He laid back against his pillow. 

"You know, Mr. Kaiba? You're one lucky fellow. You could've been killed in that wreck, but by the grace of God, you survived. I think you should be more thankful for all that you've got."

"Pah!" was all he said, turning on his side. Mokuba looked down at the floor, wishing the doctor knew the real Seto, and wouldn't judge him just by the way he acted now. If the doctor actually _knew _Seto like he knew him, he would understand. 

~ Serenity ~

It was a day after Mai and Tea had tried to set Tristen and Serenity up, and they were both still oblivious to the fact that their friends were trying to get them together (geeze, can you say dense?)

"Okay, now if you feel like you're going to fall over, lean on me." Joey said, helping his sister out of her bed. 

"Joey, I'm fine, really. I need to get out of this room!" She said as she stood up. She no longer felt as if she would pass out whenever she stood up. 

"Okay, the doctor said it would be okay for you to explore the hospital, as long as you don't mess anything up." he said, smiling. She was still looking so fragile, like a puff of wind could blow her away from him. 

"Okay, I want to go outside and see the fountain." There was a little park outside for the people recovering. They had told Serenity all about it, but, of course, she didn't know what it looked like with her bad eyesight. Now that she could see, she was going to enjoy the world around her. 

They were walking down the hall when they passed Kaiba's room. The door was opened, and Yugi stopped. 

"Oh no, not again. Forget it, Yugi, we're not checking in on that jerk." Joey said.

"Aww, come on, Joey, we should find out how he's doing." Yugi looked in the door. Kaiba was sitting up in bed, talking to Mokuba. His shirt was off, and there was a bandage wrapped around his chest. "He's awake. Come on, let's go see."

"I want to see this infamous Kaiba…" Serenity walked over to the door.

"Hey, Kaiba." Yugi said, walking in. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"You again?…Who's she?" He asked looking at Serenity. She met his gaze, and their eyes locked for a second. Oh…his eyes…they were so….deep…so…blue. 

_"Wow,"_ she thought, _"how can someone so handsome be as evil as Joey says he is?"_

"Hey, is anyone home?" Kaiba's cold voice jolted her from her thoughts. "I asked you a question."

"Oh, sorry" She said, feeling the heat rise to her face. "I was just thinking. What was the question?"

"What's your name?" he asked impatiently

"Serenity Wheeler." She said, wishing she could be swallowed up by the earth.

"What are you here for?"

"Oh, I had an eye operation." She looked down at the floor. Kaiba's cold glare was still fixed on her. She looked at Joey, who was looking at Kaiba with anger in his eyes. 

"I think we should go now. I'm really hungry." She pulled at his sleeve, but Yugi seemed intent on staying. 

"When are they going to let you out?" He asked. 

"Tomorrow, definitely." He said confidently. Serenity stepped out of the room. 

"I'm going. If you're with me, come on." She said, although she was really just looking for any excuse to get away from him. 

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I know that it's not the perfect way to meet someone, but just be patient. We're just another chapter closer to the good stuff. As always, I want to thank all of you who have reviewed. You're all really awesome people!!!

See that button down there? Press it!


	5. Snow

Chapter 5

Hey everyone, I'm back! Sorry I didn't update for a while, I've been writing other stories, but never fear! I'm gonna start working on this one again. So, here we go: chapter 5 is up! 

Disclaimer: Well, by now, everyone knows that I don't own Yugi-Oh, right?  
*Of course they do, stupid, you've only told them at the beginning of every chapter*

Sorry, that was my Yami, Helios (read my bio)…Hey! Did you just call me stupid?

*Uh…no.*

Oh, okay. Well, Helios, I can't talk to you right now because my mom is telling me to stop talking to myself. 

*K. Enjoy the story, everyone!*

~ Serenity ~

"So, what do you think?" Tristen said to Serenity as he devoured his third cheeseburger. 

"It's pretty good. You know, you'd think they would serve gross stuff in a hospital cafeteria, but I could actually get used to this." She popped a grape in her mouth.

"He wasn't talking about the food." Joey grinned. "He was talking about Kaiba."

"Oh…what do you want me to say about him?"

"Wasn't I right? He's a creep, isn't he?" Joey smirked. "I know what I'm talking about, don't I, Serenity?"

"Oh, um, I guess. He certainly wasn't the type of person I'd want to hang out with, but I don't know him that well, so I don't know what he's like normally."

"Just the same." Everyone said at the same time, and then they broke out into laughter. Serenity smiled and took a bite of her chocolate cake. (mmm…cake….)

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely not going to visit him again." Joey said. "He doesn't deserve to have friends like us, right Yugi?" Yugi, of course, didn't answer. 

"I agree," Tea said heatedly. "He's been nothing but trouble to us since the beginning. Well…except for that one time he helped Yugi in his battle…but that doesn't make up for all the rotten junk he's done to us in the past." She crossed her arms. "That jerk. I hate him."

"Yeah! I mean, would it kill him to just say one nice thing about us?" Joey asked. 

"Probably." Tristen grinned at Serenity, who smiled back. Once again, Mai and Tea looked at each other and nodded. Yugi and Joey rolled their eyes. (yeah, they have the right idea!)

After finishing their food (everyone had to wait on Tristen) the went outside to see the fountain. Serenity shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. 

"Serenity, are you cold?" Tristen asked, putting his arm around her. Serenity's cheeks turned pink, and Tea and Mai (aren't you just starting to hate them?) concealed their squeals. They sat down on the bench (Tristen with his arm still around Serenity) and looked at the fountain. It was elegant, made of what looked like pearl, and the snow glistened against it.

"Wow…isn't this beautiful?" Tea asked. Serenity nodded and scooted closer to Tristen to try to keep warm. (cute, but I bet you're all wishing it was Seto, right?) Tristen blushed violently and tipped his head back, hoping Joey wouldn't see him and say anything. Luckily, Joey was too distracted looking at Mai ( ^__^ ) to take any notice of him. 

The snowstorm had passed, but a light snow started falling around them. Serenity looked up, her hair getting speckled with little white snowflakes. Tristen smiled and flicked a snowflake off of her hair. She sighed and laid her head against his shoulder. 

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Yeah yeah yeah…I know. Serenity and Tristen shouldn't be together. (Sorry about the fluffiness) Don't worry, things between Seto and Serenity will heat up soon! Oh, and just so you know, things between Seto and Serenity will be SUPER fluffy. Aww…. I just love that kind of stuff. 


	6. Dark memories

Chapter 6 

Hi! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I feel so loved. (sniff) You guys have no idea how much my self esteem goes up each time I read the reviews you send in. Thank you SO much!

Anyway, if you want to read a "know your stars" on Yugioh, read my other story. I'm currently taking requests on who to interview. So, here's chapter 6. WARNING: This chapter talks about Seto's abuse as a child, (I haven't seen any episodes about it, but I have read stories, so this is how I picture a day in the life of an abused young Kaiba) so if you don't like what happened to him…well, none of us _like_ what happened to him…if you don't want to be reminded of why he is the way he is, don't read this chapter, but I'm warning you, you will be very confused in the future. *hint* *hint* 

Sailor Z, you're really funny. There will be _plenty _of romance. Why, when I get to the good parts, there will be so much love you'll suffocate from all the loveness flying around…loveness…did I just make up a new word? Anyway, the action will start soon. 

Disclaimer: I don't know why I have to put this up, it's not like someone's going to come up to me and say "Hi. I'm stupid and I'm wondering if you happen to own Yugi-Oh." But just incase there are some idiots out there who have no idea what's going on in the world around them, I don't own Yugioh. So there!

~Seto~

_"Seto!" A cold voice barked, sending a shudder down the spines of two little boys. "Get in here, boy!" Seto swallowed and put his arms around his knees. Mokuba sat on the other side of the closet, praying that Gozaburo wouldn't hurt his big brother again. Although Mokuba himself had never been hurt by their adoptive father, Seto had bruises on his arms and legs, and he was tired all the time from the long nights of Gozaburo's "Training"_

. Seto put one finger over his lips to tell him to remain quiet, and opened the closet door just enough so he could lean forward and peek out. The hallway was empty. Gozaburo was nowhere in sight, and Seto sighed with relief.

The door suddenly slammed, sending Seto backward with a yelp. He tasted that oh-so familiar coppery taste of blood from where the door had hit him in his mouth. Mokuba gasped but said nothing. The door opened, and light spilled in, but there was a shadow of a dark figure who had haunted his dreams for years.

Gozaburo grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the closet, totally missing Mokuba curled up in the dark corner. As he was being jerked along by his arm, Seto looked over his shoulder at his younger brother, who stared at him helplessly. 

"Why aren't you studying?" Gozaburo yelled. Seto just looked at him. Was he supposed to tell him that he and Mokuba were hiding from him? That every day living in his house with him made him want to jump out in front of a train? No, that would be a ridiculous thing to do. Best remain silent.

"Answer me! Why aren't you studying?!" He spat the words out with such aggression that Seto could barely find his voice. 

"I-I though I had finished…" he chocked out. His arm was really starting to hurt from Gozaburo's grip.

"Finished? Pah!" He let go of his arm, and Seto wondered to himself if there would be a bruise there by tomorrow. Gozaburo raised his hand up to strike him. "You're nowhere near finished…"

Seto sat up abruptly in bed, his hands shaking violently. Mokuba looked up from the book he was reading, startled. Seto was gasping for breath, his eyes wide and his face frozen in terror. 

"Seto!" Mokuba ran over to him and shook him. "Seto! What's wrong? Do you want me to call the nurse?"

"N-no, Mokuba…I…I saw him again…." Seto shivered. "It was so real Why can't I get rid of these nightmares? It's like…he's"

"What?" Mokuba asked quietly. Seto took a deep breath.

"It's like he's coming back in my dreams to haunt me. Like he's…found a way to come back…"

"Don't say that, Seto!" Mokuba cried. "They're just dreams, they don't mean anything. Gozaburo's dead…he's never coming back. Never…"

"Yeah…I made sure of that when I pushed that bastard out the window…" He said under his breath, trying to shake away his fears with this thought, but it didn't help very much. "Oh, Mokuba…" He said, swallowing. "What would he say if he were to see me today? What would he…do?"

"Don't think of that right now, Seto. You need to relax and not think of him." Mokuba pulled a chair up to his bed. _"And if he were here…" _Mokuba thought to himself. _"I'd shoot him…"_

Okay, that was a little un-Mokuba-ish, but this is my fic, and how would you feel if you brother was still being tortured by a reoccurring nightmare of his abused past? Uh-hu, that's what I thought. 

I also noticed that I made Seto a little sensitive in this chapter, but you can understand that, right? I mean, wouldn't you be? I know _I _would.

Anyway, please review. I won't be able to update until Saturday, because I'm grounded from the internet Monday through Friday. I'll try to get chapter 8 up tomorrow, but I might not be able to, seeing that tomorrow's my birthday. (April 18th) I'll be fifteen, by the way.

Don't worry, I'll be working diligently on my story, so when I DO update, I'll update big time. See ya!

__


	7. Midnight Meeting

Chapter 7 Midnight Meeting

Hey everyone! I told you I'd review! Turns out there's not much going on today for my birthday, so I thought that I'd get some progress made on my fic. Thanks for reviewing, once again, my self esteem goes up higher. I enjoy reading what you have to say about my story. So , without further adieu, (well, except for the disclaimer) I bring you chapter 7!

Disclaimer: Yo, my homie G-bizkits, this is my disclaimer rap: (clears throat) 

This is just to let you know,

I don't own the show called Yugi-oh!

'cuz if I did the plot would be

Focused on Seto and Serenity

(If you don't like rap, don't hate me. I was bored. And I realize that most raps are longer, but I couldn't think of anything that rhymed and would go along with "Tristen" and "Alone" )

It was very late, probably around midnight or something. Everyone had gone home except for Joey, who was laying asleep on the bed on the other side of the room. But Serenity was awake, wide awake. The medicine she was on made her an insomniac…and hungry.

She looked over at her snoring brother and slipped out of bed. She was too wiry to sit still, and she knew that there was a snack machine on the second floor. As carefully as she could, she opened the door and walked out into the hall. There were no nurses patrolling, but Serenity figured that she couldn't get into too much trouble anyway, seeing that she was just going to the snack machine and back. 

She took the elevator to the second floor and was making her way down the hall when she realized that the light in Seto's room was on and the door was cracked open.

"I shouldn't…" She said to herself. "I really shouldn't…" But curiosity had already gotten the best of her, and before she could help herself, she was peering through the tiny slit at Seto and Mokuba. They seemed to be deep in conversation. She could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation. 

"Don't worry…" Mokuba was saying "….never." 

The older Kaiba mumbled something that she didn't catch, and then she heard him speak clearly, yet he seemed anguished.

"What would he say if he were to see me today? What would he…do?"

_"Who is he?" _Serenity wondered. Mokuba spoke quietly to his brother in a voice that she couldn't hear, but he pulled a chair up next to Seto's bed.

"Who's there?!" Seto shouted suddenly. She felt her heart stop for a second before it started hammering him her chest. "Who's there?!" He asked again, this time with more anger in his voice. Serenity swallowed and opened the door, her heart still beating rapidly. Seto gave her a look before speaking. 

"How long have you been there?" He asked in an undertone voice that she disliked worse than his shouting. 

"I…I was…well…" She stuttered. 

"Well? Speak!" He spoke this command as if he were speaking to a dog. "How much did you hear?!" He asked, his voice trembling a little. 

"N-nothing…well I heard a little…but I have no idea what you were talking about! I swear!"

"Don't be too angry, Seto." Mokuba said softly. Seto looked at him. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone a little softer.

"I was going to get something to eat from the machine…" why was it suddenly so hard to breath?

"So…you decided to stop by my room and spy and my on me and Mokuba on your way?" He asked sarcastically. 

"No! I was just curious, that's all. Normal people are asleep by now." She said, trying to avoid his stark, cold eyes. 

"You're up and walking the halls of a hospital in the middle of the night! That doesn't sound normal to me!" He said accusingly. 

"I already told you-" She stopped short. Faintly, she could hear footsteps. Someone was coming. She quickly stepped into Seto's room and shut the door.

"Excuse me! What are you doing?!" He asked, apparently shocked at her bold move. 

"Please! I don't want to get caught! I've never been in trouble in my life!"

"…Well, I do have to say, you've got guts, Wheeler." He said, giving her a half smile. "I mean, few people would do pull something like that." 

"What do you mean?" She asked, and Seto wondered to himself if she was pulling his leg or if she was genuinely clueless. Either way, he liked the thought that maybe _someone _didn't know of his rep. 

"Most people are…I guess…afraid of me, and I must say that very few would actually enter my room and shut the door behind them…well, except for Mokuba, of course." He said, looking over at his brother who was listening intently on their conversation. "But, you know, that's what happens when rumors spread. Not that I care, mind you." He added quickly. 

"Oh…" she sat down in the chair, another thing that shocked Seto, but he shook it off. Serenity certainly wasn't like most girls, who would've just stood there stupidly, waiting for him to say something. 

"So, how long are you planning on staying?" Seto asked. It was an honest question, for once, not sarcastic. 

"Oh, just until I'm sure it's safe to leave." She was finding it easier to talk to him now that she was sitting down instead of just standing in the doorway.

"Okay, I guess that's alright." He adjusted his pillow to ease the pain in his back. Serenity smiled to herself. _"He's not as bad as Joey said he is…"_

The door opened, and in walked a plump little nurse carrying a tray with an I.V bag, some pills, and a needle on it. 

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba. I noticed your light was on, so I-" When she saw Serenity, she screamed and dropped the tray, sending the medicine everywhere. Seto began to laugh. Not a sarcastic laugh, a real laugh. 

"Oh my God! You should've seen your face!" He gasped for air as the nurse scurried to pick up the items she'd dropped. 

"You! What are you doing in here?!" She scolded Serenity. "You shouldn't be out of bed and bothering Mr. Kaiba!"

"She's not bothering me, in fact, I'm enjoying her company." Seto said, and now it was Serenity's turn to be shocked.

"That may be so, but this young lady doesn't need to be out of her bed. Now, shoo, shoo, shoo!" The nurse said, finally getting the last of the materials. "I need to change Mr. Kaiba's I.V" 

Serenity stood up, but just before she exited the door, Seto spoke.

"Hey, Serenity" He said, using her first name "See you around."


	8. What's wrong?

Chapter 8 What's wrong?

Hey, everyone, I'm back! I wrote this on the road…well, I am currently writing this on the road, but by the time you read it, I won't be on the road anymore…well, I'll just get on with it. My school's band is going to Branson, and, being a member of the band (flute) I'm going with them. 

*Feh, and I'm stuck coming too. Just get on with the story*

Well Fine! I bring you, chapter 8! Sorry it took so long, but I have chapter 9 written, and I'll post it as soon as I get this posted. 

Disclaimer: Must I really say this again?

*Of course. Remember, if you get sued, I will too!

Okay, here we go. I don't own Yugi-Oh.

~Seto~

It was only after Serenity left, and the nurse was about to inject the needle into his arm, that Seto noticed the sly look on Mokuba's face. 

" What?" He asked, but then bit his lip when the nurse inserted the I.V into his skin. "Ouch!" The nurse glanced at him then left, muttering to herself. 

"You don't even realize it yet, do you?" Mokuba asked, grinning mischievously. 

"Realize what?"

"Nothing." Mokuba shrugged. "I'm tired, lets go to bed. It's…been a long night."

"But…" Seto started, but then shook his head?

"What is it?" Mokuba asked, his large eyes full of concern for his older brother.

"What…" He sighed. "I just can't get that dream out of my head." He swallowed. "I know it's…it may seem stupid, but I just can't forget the horrible things that Gozaburo did."

"Seto…" Mokuba looked away, his eyes blurred with tears. Truth be told, after the Serenity incident, Mokuba had forgotten about the tender subject they had been discussing. A shadow fell over his good mood. "I-I wish that there was something I could do…Something to ease your pain…" Next came a sob that surprised both Seto and Mokuba himself. "…but I can't, Seto!"

"…Mokuba…" Seto whispered. "Don't…I may be heartless, but I hate to se my only brother cry."

"Seto! You're not heartless!" Mokuba seemed surprised that his older brother could even think of himself as cold-hearted. Seto smiled at his little brother, but his eyes still held a look of sadness. 

~Serenity~

As quietly as she could, Serenity slipped into her room. Joey was still snoring away on his bed, completely oblivious to the fact that his sister had been out of her bed. The only thing he cased about was the dream he was having. (which, by the way, included Mai and a hot tub.)

The insomnia was gone, and she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, completely forgetting that she hadn't gotten something to eat, which was her original plan. 

Something was bothering her, though, before she went to sleep. Looking around her room, it seemed natural that she would have flowers and gifts. But in Seto's room, there was only a bouquet of flowers from his little brother. She thought that at least the people working for him would get him something. 

I know it's short, but the next chapter is much longer. As always, review!


	9. A gift

Chapter 9 A gift

Man! There's no place like home! I'm so happy to be back! Here's chapter 9!

Disclaimer: Let's say it for all the stupid people out there: I do not own Yugioh!

~Serenity~

"Okay Serenity, I think you are ready to go home." The young doctor said, peering down into her eyes. It was the next day, and the doctor who had performed the surgery gave her the clear to go home. 

"What? But it's only been a few days since her surgery. Are you sure it's okay?" Joey was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room. 

"Yes, it's perfectly safe. These types of operations aren't too serious nowadays, and Serenity's been an amazing patient."

"So, you mean…I'm actually free to go? I'm perfectly clear?"

"Well, it seems that way. You should have a check up with me in three weeks just to make sure. And, of course, as a precaution, you need to put one drop of this medicine in your eyes each night to keep from getting an infection…Oh! Don't worry!" he added when she blanched. "We've never had an infection, but there's still a chance."

"I have just one question." Joey said, standing up and moving over to them. "IF it was a simple surgery, why did it cost so much?"

"You must understand, Mr. Wheeler, the surgery Serenity went through required many tools that most doctors hadn't even heard of, and they were expensive. And then there's the surgery itself. Although simple, it is still very new to us, and there were many other details that had to be worked out." He stood. "Well, Serenity, after you get packed up, I guess you can leave."

Serenity beamed. Joey put his arm around her and sat on the bed. The doctor left, a smile on his face.

They collected all her belongings, including the 12 sets of flowers Tristen had bought to replace the 12 that had begun to wilt (Don't you just hate him? Popping up everywhere when this is supposed to be a Seto x Serenity fic!) and started to leave, when Serenity noticed the gift shop. 

"Joey," She said quietly "Can I go in there and buy something?"

"Uh…" He said, trying to see over the stack of her presents "don't ya think ya have enough gifts?"

"Not for me for…someone else."

"Okay, just let me put this stuff in the car, and-"

"No! You can…wait for me in the car. I'll just be a minute."

"Okay, Here." He handed her a 20 dollar bill "will this be enough?"

"Yes, I think so. Thank you, Joey, I'll pay you back as soon as I can" (But, like most people, she never does)

The shop was big, but she still couldn't find anything. What do you get for someone who already has everything? She found a cute little brown teddy bear that she would've liked to have, but she doubted that a multi-millionaire would care for such things. 

Finally, after much deliberation, she decided on a bouquet of blue and white flowers. (get it? Blue and white? Hee Hee…) 

It was a medium sized display, and cost 12.99. At first, she thought of buying chocolate to go along with it, but then decided that he may not be able to keep anything down, and chocolate might make him feel worse.

She was about to open the door to his room, when it swung open almost hitting her in the face. 

"Sorry." Said a young man who was dressed in a suit and grinning from ear to ear. He passed by her and briskly walked to the elevator. 

"Um…Kaiba?" She asked, poking her head in the door. "Can I come in?" Kaiba was sitting up with his hand to his forehead. Before he even spoke she could tell he was in a bad mood, but she went against her senses and proceeded in anyway. Mokuba was sitting in a chair, looking quietly at his brother. "It's me, Serenity."

"I know who you are. What do you want?" His voice was cold. She resisted the urge to ask him what was wrong, remembering that he was a cold person anyway. Last night, he had let his guard down, but today his eyes were shielded, and he was back to normal.

"W-well, I'm going home today, and I thought that I'd get you something before I left." She sat the flowers down on the table next to Mokuba's. For a second, his shield faltered, but then he gave her a look of suspicion. 

"Why?"

"Well, because I thought that you could use something to cheer you up." 

"That was nice of you, Serenity." Mokuba said, "Wasn't that nice of her, Seto?"

"Well, it depends on her motive. What do you want in return?"

"What? But…this was just…a gift. You don't have to give me anything for it."

"Yeah, right." He rolled his stark, blue eyes. "I learned long time ago that people only want to take, never give." for a second, she though she heard a hitch in his voice, but he went over it so smoothly that she dismissed it as her imagination.

"You know what?" Serenity felt her voice choke, but she went on anyway. "All I tried to do was be nice to you, but you're to paranoid to actually let someone get close to you. You'd rather live your life in your own little pathetic world full of hate than have any real friends." And with that, she turned on her heel and left before he could say another word, but she'd left him to stunned to talk anyway. 

I'm sorry! I had to make her get angry with him. No one said that a relationship is easy. Anyway, wait for the next chapter, and I'll be working hard on it. See ya!


	10. Operation Boy meets Girl

Chapter 10 Operation boy meets girl

I know everyone hates me because it took me so long to update, but I can explain. My mom's computer (which I have to work on because mine's not connected to the internet) had that stupid spyware thing inserted in it. But we fixed it, so I'm back. To say I'm sorry, I'm putting up three chapters right now.

Disclaimer: Me: (takes deep breath) I...do not...own...Yugi-Oh...

Psychiatrist: Now, was that so hard?

Me:...Yes! (Puts head in hands and starts to cry.)

Seto

"Girls." Seto muttered under his breath. "Always looking for something, and then when they don't get it, they run off in tears." He shook his head. "Such weaklings. They need to learn that not all men are going to give them whatever they want. Right Mokuba?"

"Um, right, Seto. I'm going to go get something to eat from the cafeteria. I'm feeling kind of hungry." Mokuba darted out the door.

"Mokuba!" Seto called. "The cafeteria's the other way . . . and . . . he can't hear me . . . " he sighed and returned to the book he was reading.

Serenity

"What's wrong, Serenity?" Joey asked when he saw the disturbed, teary look on his sister's face. "Did something happen? Has someone tried to hurt you?! Because if they did, I'll-"

"No, Joey, I'm fine." She opened the car door and got in. "It . . . It's no big deal."

Joey looked at her with concern. "Well, then . . . " he leaned over and put a finger to a wet spot on her cheek. "What are these tears for?"

"Oh!" Serenity said, shocked. She hadn't even realized that she was crying. Great, now she'd given the great Kaiba the satisfaction of seeing her in tears. "I'm feeling a little . . . weepy right now. You know, probably a result of the operation. The medicine they put me on was really strong." She wanted to tell him about Kaiba, but then again, Joey was such a drastic person. He would probably go straight up to Kaiba and give him a good punch in the face. And an altercation was one thing she wanted to avoid."I'm okay, really."

"Are you sure? Because you know that if anyone tried to-"

"I'm fine, Joey, really. Can we just go home? I'm really eager to see my room again." She forced a smile, and her brother put his arm around her and gave her a hug. It was comforting to know that he was there and always would be. She closed her eyes as he started the engine.

They were about to leave, but something stopped them. There was a young boy with long, dark hair running towards the car.

"Mokuba?" Joey said, rolling down the window. Mokuba ran up to Serenity's side of the car, panting.

"Serenity! I'm . . . glad I caught you . . . before you . . . left . . . I'm S-sorry about . . . Seto . . . " He said, trying to catch his breath. "He's . . . not usually . . . like . . . this."

"Kaiba? What about him?"Joey asked suspiciously.

"Well . . . " Mokuba took a deep breath, but Serenity cut in.

"It's okay, Mokuba. You didn't have to come all the way down here just to tell me that." She said quickly, hoping that Joey wouldn't press further.

"Okay, did I miss something here? What's going on with Kaiba that I don't know about?" Joey asked, obviously confused.

"Nothing, Joey." Serenity said. "Mokuba, can we talk about this later? Maybe you could call me." She grabbed a pen from the dashboard and started scribbling down her phone number on a piece of paper. Mokuba's face lit up.

"Okay!" He took the scrap of paper and smiled. "See you around."

"You, too."

"What am I missing?! Did something happen with Kaiba?!" Joey's confusion turned to anger.

"No, Joey. Everything's fine, don't worry. Bye, Mokuba."

"Bye." He smiled as they drove off. "And let operation 'boy meets girl' begin."

Okie dokie, got that taken care of. Now my conscience is clear.


	11. Matchmaker

Chapter 11 Matchmaker

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugi-Oh, or the Olive Garden (which, by the way, is one of the best places to eat)

Serenity

It was almost another week before Serenity heard anything from Kaiba. She didn't think about it much, and the incident from before was pushed to the back of her mind. She busied herself with drawing, reading, and mostly painting. In fact, she was in the middle of a painting one day when the telephone rang.

"Hello?" she held the receiver with her left hand while she tried painting with her right.

"Hey, Serenity, this is Mokuba."

"Oh!" She put the paintbrush down. "Hi, Mokuba! What's up?"

"Well, my brother just got out of the hospital three days ago, and he's feeling much better now."

"That's great Mokuba! I'm really happy for him." she said, trying her best to sound enthusiastic. Although she was glad he was doing better, the remarks from before came back to her mind.

"Well, that's not all. You see, we're going out to dinner tomorrow, and he wants to make it up to you for the way that he treated you at the hospital. So, if you're not busy tomorrow, he'd like you to come eat with us. Do you like the Olive Garden?"

"I don't think I've ever eaten there."

"Well, trust me, you'll love it. Seto's never eaten there, but he wants it to be very...special...seeing that, you know, he thinks that you're still mad at him and all. So, will you come?"

"...Um...I don't know...I don't think that Joey will let me go."

"He doesn't have to know!"

"Mokuba, I can't keep something from Joey. I'd have to tell him. How would you feel if you had to keep something from your brother?"

"Oh...I see. But, Serenity, he usually doesn't do things like this. And Joey doesn't have to know. I'm sure there's tons of stuff that he doesn't tell you..."

"Well...I don't see why not. I mean, it's not like it's a date or anything

"Er...yeah. I'm not sure what time to meet us there, so I'll call you back tomorrow."

"Okay, just make sure it's in plenty of time so I can get ready."

"Alright, see you then."

"Yeah, bye." And with that, the date was set.

Seto

Since he was feeling better, Seto was back to his usual hectic schedule. It was just three weeks until Christmas, and the employee he had assigned to perform his job while he had been in the hospital had really slacked off. There were still boxes and boxes of Kaiba Corp. merchandise to be sent around the world, and the deadline was drawing near.

"Seto?" Mokuba peeked his head in Seto's room. It was around noon. The CEO had fallen asleep at the computer _again_. "Seto!" He said, agitated. "Have you been up here all night?! I'm telling you, you've got to get some rest!"

"Wha-what? No, Mokuba..." He sat up and stretched. "I'm okay. But yes, I have been up all night. I have to finish this."

"You need to get some sleep, Seto...or at least...maybe, a break off of work? I was thinking that tomorrow, perhaps if you're not too busy-"

"Oh, Mokuba..." he sighed "I'm always too busy..."

"But I was thinking that maybe you would want to go out to eat tomorrow. Perhaps...the Olive Garden? We never get to spend time anymore..."

"Um..." Seto looked uncomfortable. "Mokuba, I have a lot of work to do. Even if I work all night again... which it looks like I might have to...I don't think I would be able to take time off."

"But why are you so rushed, Seto? Why do you have to make all these shipments before Christmas? There are always items left over on the shelves after Christmas is over. I know Kaiba Corp's merchandise is popular, but that doesn't mean that you should have to break your back over this just because people want it..." He broke off and looked away. "I miss spending time with you, Seto."

"Oh..." Seto looked at him and, for a brief moment, a smile flickered on his lips. "Okay, I'll find time tomorrow.

Mokuba lovers unite! He's so adorable! I just had to give him a good part in this story, and for a while, it seemed like the plot was going nowhere. Now things can really get rolling. So, here you are, enjoy, and I'll be working on the next chapters. See ya!


	12. Getting Ready

Chapter 12 Getting ready

Hey everyone! Well, here we are, chapter 12. I just realized how long this story's going to be. Oh well.

Disclaimer: Hey, guess what? I don't own Yugi-Oh.

Serenity

Serenity was digging through her closet around noon the next day, looking for something to wear in front of Kaiba. How should she dress? She didn't want to look out of place. What if she showed up in a pair of jeans and a t shirt? No, that might not be formal enough. But what if she arrived overdressed? That would be embarrassing. Luckily around that time, Mokuba called to tell her what time to be there.

"Seven." He said." That should give you plenty of time to get ready."

"Thank you, Mokuba. How should I dress? Because I really can't decide what to wear."

"Oh, dress nice. This is a fancy restaurant, you want to look your best."

"Okay, thanks. I need to get ready. See you later."

After handing up, she called Tea and asked if she could drop her off there.

"Why don't you just get Joey to take you?"

"I can't! He can't find out or he'll kill me!"

"Why? What are you doing?"

"Nothing much. I'm just...meeting Kaiba and Mokuba there."

"What?! Kaiba?! Are you crazy? Serenity," She said, trying to calm her voice. "I know he's cute, but maybe you should base who you date on looks."

"I'm not dating him! Ew! We're just...going out to eat at a nice restaurant. ".

"Oh, Serenity, I don't know. I mean, why would Kaiba invite you to dinner with him?"

"It's to make up for the way he treated me when I visited him at the hospital. He was very rude, you know. But maybe this will be better."

"Well...okay, but I'm still not so sure about this. I'll take you, but you still need to be careful around him."

"Don't worry, Tea, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Trust me."

"Oh I trust you. It's Kaiba that I don't trust. But...I'll keep it a secret if you really want me to."

"Thanks, Tea. You're a real friend."

After hanging up, she returned to the grueling task of deciding what to wear. Mokuba had said dress nicely. Well, she certainly had a nice dress, silver blue and made to fit her figure perfectly. The only problem was that it was a halter top, and in the middle of December that would be very uncomfortable. At first, she thought of wearing a jacket over it, but she didn't have any that would match it and look the least bit decent.

But then, the yellow sun dress wouldn't do either. It was too casual for a dinner meeting like this. She had outgrown her dark green dress, and the rest of her clothes just didn't look right for such a nice dinner.

She tried on the halter dress. The silvery blue color was perfect, and matched a shade of eyeshadow she had. Although she loved this dress, if fit nicely, and she wasn't sure if she wanted the great Seto Kaiba to notice her...form.

Seto

"No no no,. wear something nice, Seto."

"What? Why?" He asked as Mokuba went through his closet, throwing clothes all over the floor. Mokuba sighed and pulled out a dark, navy blue shirt. He had seen the way girls looked at his brother when he wore that shirt. Hopefully it would work on Serenity, too.

"This is a good restaurant we're going to, Seto. Wear this with...these pants..."He said, pulling out a pair of black slacks. "And your white trench."

"My trench-coat? Why would I want to wear that? It could get dirty."

"You'd look good in it." Mokuba said, grinning. "And you wouldn't want to offend the people at the restaurant by showing up looking grungy, would you?"

"Why do I care what the people at the restaurant care about me?"

"I don't know...it just seems to me that a man of you standards would want to have more friends than enemies."

"And I'm going to make friends by dressing good?"

"...Yes."

"Alright, I'll wear it." He said, taking the clothes out of his brother's hands. "Now, go in there."

"Okay." Mokuba smiled. His plan was going perfectly so far. Now, if his luck would hold out, Seto wouldn't freak out when he found out that he had invited Serenity. But then, it was Seto.

Mokuba giving Seto advice on what to wear...I know, weird.


	13. The notadate

Chapter 13 The not-a-date

Disclaimer: Writing these things always makes me sad because they remind me that I don't own Yugi-Oh or the Olive Garden, which is my sole aim in life.

Seto

The Olive Garden certainly lived up to it's reputation. When Seto and Mokuba arrived, they were seated at a round booth that curved around a half circle table. For drinks, Seto ordered unsweet tea, and Mokuba ordered a Doctor Pepper.

"Hey...Seto..." Mokuba said, looking down at his hands folded in his lap. This was going to be hard. "There's something I should probably tell you..."

Seto turned to him. "What did you do this time?"

"Well...do you remember Serenity from the hospital?"

"How could I forget?" Seto asked, rolling his eyes. "Why?"

"Well...I kind of..." he paused and smiled sheepishly. "invited her to have dinner with us tonight."

"You...did...what?" Seto asked, astounded. "You did this without my permission?"

"Yes..." Mokuba said in a small voice.

"Why?" Was all Seto could say.

"Serenity's my friend. I knew that you wouldn't want to come if you knew she was coming."

"Why would you think that?" Seto asked, genuinely clueless.

"Because I didn't think you like her very much, considering the way you treated her in the hospital." Mokuba looked up at him. Seto looked shocked.

"I treated her just like I treat everyone else."

"Exactly." Mokuba said. Seto opened his mouth to say something, but then a girl walked through the door. If it weren't for her soft brown eyes and reddish-brown hair, Seto wouldn't have recognized her.

She was wearing a long, blue-silver halter dress and, unlike their last meeting, makeup. Glitter eye shadow and light lipstick. Mokuba elbowed him in the arm and told him that it's rude to stare. But then, who wouldn't? She asked the hostess a question and was directed to their table. Mokuba scooted over.

Serenity

Let's not lie: Kaiba looked good. Better than good, he was just plain hot! He looked much better than he had in the hospital. The bruises were gone, and his the color had returned to his face. There were still dark rings under his eyes, but other than that he looked fine. Very fine...

"Hi Serenity!" Mokuba said, smiling at her. "I'm glad you made it. Here, you can sit by me..._across from Seto._"

"Okay, thank you." She sat down and looked around. "This is a really nice place."

"Yeah, it is." Mokuba agreed. "Do you like it, Seto?"

"Mmhmm..." He said distractedly. At that moment, their drinks arrived.

"Oh, we have one more. What can I get you to drink?" the waitress asked as she handed Mokuba his Doctor Pepper.

"Sweet tea, please." she said. The waitress left to get her drink. Serenity looked at the menu, but everything was in Italian.

"Um...do you...know hat this stuff is?" She asked. Kaiba shook his head.

"No..." he said, looking through it.

"Well, I find that the best things have really funny names...like baklava!." (Mmm...baklava! Delicious, but kind of sticky)

"Mokuba, baklava's Grecian." Kaiba said.

"It was just an example. I'd order something with a really weird name."

"I don't know...I don't' want to order something that I might be allergic to. I do like spaghetti..."

"Order that. I think I'll have the calamari." Seto said, examining his menu.

"What's that?" Mokuba and Serenity both said in unison.

"Oh, you know...it's that...uh...Italian dish." He said, obviously not having a clue what it is. (Although I hope you do!)

Mokuba smiled at his brother. "I think I'll have that too! If Seto likes it, it's gotta be good. He has an excellent sense of taste...except for caviar. I don't like the fishy eggs..." he made a disgusted face. Serenity chuckled.. The waitress appeared with her tea.

"Have you all decided what you would like to order?" She asked, pulling a pencil from behind her ear.

"Yes," Seto cleared his throat. "I'll have the calamari."

"And I'll have whatever he has." Mokuba said when the waitress turned to him.

"Okay, two calamari. And you?" She looked at Serenity.

"Just spaghetti." She said.

"Okay, I'll be back later with your bread sticks."

"Hey, Kaiba?" Serenity asked, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

"Hm?"

"This...uh...this isn't a...you know...right.?

"A date? O-of course not." he stammered.

"Okay, that...that's what I thought. I was just making sure..."

"Oh, I understand." He glanced at Mokuba, who shrugged innocently. "Hey..." Seto decided to change the subject. "Didn't you get cold in that dress?"

"No, not really. Only when I was outside, but I'm fine right now."

"Why would you wear something like that in the middle of winter?" Seto asked, but Mokuba nudged him in the arm again. "N-not that it looks bad...I mean, you...uh...wear it well...er..." everything that came out of his mouth sounded wrong. Usually he wouldn't care what he said, and usually it wouldn't matter. But around Serenity, things were different. He couldn't think like he normally could, and things came out all wrong.

"Um..." Serenity felt her face turn hot again. "Th-thank you...Kaiba..." She took a sip of her tea. Mokuba smiled when the waitress returned with the bread sticks.

"These look good!" He said taking one. Serenity picked another up.

"They are." She said. Seto took one and tried it.

"I can't wait to try the main dish." Mokuba said. Serenity nodded.

"Yeah, if this is this good, imagine what the rest is going to be like!" She said, and took another bite. Seto smiled briefly, and then caught himself. Smiling?

They talked about nothing in particular for a while: the weather, (snow had begun falling again) the restaurant, the food, nothing much until their meal arrived. The waitress sat a rather large plate of spaghetti in front of Serenity. The meatballs were about the size of golf balls. (Mmm....) Then she gave Seto and Mokuba their calamari. It was cut into little ringlets, like onion rings. Seto put a piece in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed.

"This is pretty good. What is it, some kind of vegetable?" he asked, then put another piece in his mouth.

"No," said the waitress, grinning. "It's some sort of octopus."

Seto blanched and swallowed. "Oc-octopus?"

"Squid to be exact." She said. "Didn't you know that?"

"O-of course I did." he looked down at his meal.

"Don't worry, Seto. It's not as bad as fish eggs!" Mokuba said, putting a piece in his mouth. "Actually, it's pretty good. Want to try a piece, Serenity?"

"I'll pass… I've got enough to eat as it is." She said, looking at the mountain of spaghetti on her plate.

"Okay..."Seto said, picking up another piece. "I'm...going to eat this again. Only now I know what it is..." he put it in his mouth. It was good, he had to admit. And Mokuba was certainly enjoying it.

Serenity tried her spaghetti. Delicious! The monstrous meatballs were good too, but half way through it she realized she wasn't going to be able to finish it. She was almost full, and there was still much to be left eaten.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Mokuba said, suddenly. Seto stood up to let him out, and then sat back down. Five minuets later, the lights dimmed, and Mokuba returned to his seat.

"Wow, isn't this nice?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is." Serenity sighed. The soft lights overhead made Seto look even better. He was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen.

His blue eyes met hers, and it was then she realized she was staring at him. She looked away quickly. He must think she was awfully rude, or like those other silly adolescent girls who only liked him for his looks. Liked him...where did that come from? Did she like him? No, it wasn't possible. Joey would kill her. But when she looked at him...she felt different than when she looked at Tristan.

Seto was troubled with his emotions too. Serenity wasn't like other girls. She didn't giggle all the time when she was around him like all those other girls, nor did she throw herself at him and try to flirt with him. She was...different.

"Do you have a ride?" Seto asked when they were standing outside after dinner. Serenity nodded.

"I was going to call a cab..." She said, shrugging.

"Do you want to ride in my limo? I...got a new driver." he looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"Sure! I'd love to!" She said as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

"Oh! You must be freezing!" Seto removed his trench, hesitated for a second, and put it around Serenity's shoulders.

"Thank you, Seto." she said, smiling. She could smell his expensive cologne on the coat.

"You're welcome...You...called me Seto."

"Yeah." Serenity smiled. "I did."

Seto smiled to himself. "Now, where's Mokuba? He should've been back from the bathroom by now. He already went once while we were eating."

Little did he know that from a distance, Mokuba was watching them, smiling from ear to ear. He ran out to meet them.

"Serenity's riding with us?!" he asked, smiling innocently as they told him. He got in the front seat. "You two can sit in the back."

"Maybe...we could have another...not-a-date, sometime." Seto said when they arrived at her house. She smiled at him.

"I'd like that, Seto." She said. Just before she got out of the car, she turned to him and handed his trench coat back. "You should smile more, it makes you look good." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I had a good time. Thank you." And she got out of the car, leaving behind a very stunned Seto.

So, what did you think? I know it was kind of long, but at least I made it through it. I realize it was kind of poorly written, but I wrote it late at night, and I was kind of rushed to finish it. Don't worry, though, I'll take my time on the next one.


	14. After the date

Chapter 14 After the date

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugi-Oh at the moment, but someday...somewhere...oh, what am I saying. I'll never own Yugi-Oh.

Okay, I'm not sure if this is what actually happens in the cartoon, in fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but in this story, Joey's father is dead (I know what a creep he was) and he lives with Serenity and her mother. I haven't been watching very long, so don't hate me.

Serenity

After checking to make sure that her mother and Joey weren't still awake (imagine what a shock that would be!) Serenity snuck into the house and up the stairs to her room. The digital clock on the table next to her bed said 9:26. Had it really been over three hours? Time had seemed to fly. But then, that's what happens when you're having fun.

She took her makeup off, brushed her teeth, and got ready for bed. The memories from the night still hung with her: The comfortable atmosphere of the restaurant, how absolutely perfect Seto looked, the delicious taste of dinner, (did I mention how perfect Seto looked?) the warmth of Seto's trench, how soft Seto's cheek felt against her lips. She felt herself blush and wondered what Seto had thought of her kissing him.

She had taken a real gamble by doing that, but Seto hadn't said anything bad about it, that was a good sign. Of course, he hadn't said anything good about it...that was a bad sign.

She laid down in her bed and tried to go to sleep, but all she could think about was Seto. He was so handsome...his eyes were so blue, and he had seemed more at ease than he had in the hospital. Perhaps the reason he was so hateful before was because of the situation he had been in. She smiled to herself. That had to be it. Now that he was back to his usual routine, he would probably be a lot more kind. At least, that's what she hoped.

Seto

"Did you have a good time?" Mokuba asked, smiling at his older brother. Seto nodded.

"Um, yes, I did. It was a good idea."

"So, are you and Serenity going to go back out again?" Mokuba pried. Seto felt his face turn red.

"Er... I...think so." He said quietly. "I'm...uh...going to go work on the computer now. I need to make up for what I missed today." He started to go upstairs, but Mokuba stopped him.

"Seto, I think you should go to bed. You're going to exhaust yourself. And don't you think you'd do better work if you were more awake than you are at the moment? I mean, you've been working night and day to get this finished. Don't you think you should take a break now and then?"

"I took a break today." he said, trying to go around him. "Now, if you'll please move, I need to get to working. It nice what you're trying to do, but remember, it's only a few more weeks until Christmas. We need to get these shipments out by then."

"But-" He said as Seto got around him and started walking up the stairs.

"Don't worry, Mokuba." Seto turned and looked at him. "I'll be fine. I promise that when Christmas is over, I'll get some more rest. Maybe we could take a vacation or something."

"Yeah, where have I heard that before?" Mokuba muttered under his breath.

Thanks, once again, to everyone who reviewed. I know it was short, but after such a long chapter last time, I thought I'd give you a break. There will be many surprises coming up, so stay with the story. See ya!


	15. I'm Sorry

Chapter 15 I'm Sorry

Disclaimer: Hey everyone, guess what, I don't own Yugi-Oh! I know, it may be hard to believe, but I'm not smart enough to think up a manga series/ TV show this cool. Sorry if I disappointed anyone.

This chapter may be a little confusing. If you have any questions, ask them in your review, and I'll be glad to answer them in the next chapter. Oh, and I'm just warning you now, if you don't like Tea at the moment, you absolutely despise her after this.

Seto

"Seto, are you sure you want to do this?" Mokuba asked as they entered the flower shop. His brother gave a swift nod, but said nothing as he went to look at the flowers in the glass case. Mokuba continued. "Because you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, it's not like you two were friends or anything."

"Mokuba, it still wouldn't be right not to do anything, Here, what do you think of these?" he pulled out a bouquet of white roses and tulips. Mokuba shrugged.

"They look good."

"Okay." Seto started walking up to the cash register, but stopped short.

"...Tea?" he asked, startled. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Hmm?" She looked up from the book she was reading. "Kaiba! Um...hi, what are you doing here?"

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" was what he wanted to say, but since his dinner with Serenity three days ago, he was trying to make it a point to be a little nicer. That was why he was there in the first place. "I'm buying flowers."

"Really..." She took them from him and scanned them. "Are they for a certain woman?"

"Yes..." He said, pulling out his wallet.

"Would...I happen to know her?" She pried.

"I don't think so." Seto answered, much to Tea's despair. "How much will it be?"

"Um...sixteen seventy-five...what's her name?" Now, Seto really wanted to tell her to mind her own business, but once again he decided that it wouldn't be worth it.

"Karen." He handed her the money and left quickly, Mokuba following him.

"...I have to call Serenity!" Tea said aloud once he was gone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is the place." Seto said to his new driver through the intercom.

"Uh, Mr. Kaiba, are you sure?" The confused driver asked, looking at the small, shoddy house.

"Of course I'm sure!" he said heatedly. The driver shrugged and stopped the vehicle. "Mokuba, I want you to stay in the car." He said, getting out. He walked up to the paint peeled door and knocked, seeing that there was no doorbell.

"Just a minute!" Came a voice from the inside. Seto stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. The door opened.

She was wearing grey sweat pants and a white tank top. Her dark, curly hair was pulled up into a sloppy ponytail, and a sleeping baby was in her arms.

"Can I help you?" She asked, quite taken aback by the tall stranger at her doorstep.

"Yes, you are Karen, I presume?"

"Yes I am." She shifted the baby to her shoulder. Seto could hear children laughing in another room.

"I'm Seto Kaiba-" Her caramel colored face went chalk white. Slam! The door met his face. He heard the baby crying from the other side.

"Get off of our property, murder!" She cried. Ouch, if only she knew the half of it. "Because of you, my husband is dead!" He heard her sink to the floor, sobbing.

"If you would just let me explain!"

"No! If it weren't for you, my husband would still be alive today, and my children would have a father! You have no right to be here!"

"Just listen to me!" he cried. She slowly opened the door, and he thrust the flowers at her. "I came to apologize. I know...I know I can't possibly make it up to you...but if there's anything I can do..."

"You've done enough." She said angrily.

"Yes...that's true. But if I could come in...maybe we could talk?" For a minute, he thought she was going to say no. Then she nodded and let him in.

"Come on, let's talk in the living room." she led him to a small room which, to him, could've been one of his closets. There was a couch, (with some stuffing missing) a couple of chairs, and a small fireplace where a little fire was glowing. Two children lay in front of the fireplace. One, a little girl with her black hair pulled into braids, was playing with a makeshift rag doll, and the other, a little boy with the same dark hair and almond shaped eyes, was drawing a picture.

"I'm sorry it's so messy, I was in the middle of cleaning. Jose, Maria, this is Mr. Kaiba." Karen said. The two children gasped and dropped their things.

"Mommy, isn't he the guy who killed daddy?" the little girl, Maria asked, her almond shaped eyes gone wide.

"No...it was...an accident. I would like it if you would go to your room now." She said. The two children stood obediently and went to their room. Karen laid her baby in on a pallet in the floor and gave it a few toys to play with . The baby squealed with delight, and Seto couldn't help but smile. The little half Mexican, half American baby was beautiful.

"His name's Johnny." She said quietly, watching the baby play.

"He...was named for his father?" Seto asked, recognizing it as the name of his ex-driver. She nodded.

"Yes..." she sat on the couch next to him. Seto stared at the baby. It looked back and him and gave him a big, toothless smile, a teething ring in it's hands. Seto swallowed.

"What did you want to talk about, Mr. Kaiba?" Karen asked.

"Please, you can call me Seto." He said absently. "And...I wanted to...say how truly sorry I am for what happened." he turned to her. "If I had know this would've happened, I would have listened to him..." He sighed. "He...tried to tell me the road was too slick. And I...Just snapped at him like he was..." he didn't finish, but she understood.

"Seto...I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. It's just that now I know that Johnny will grow up not knowing who his father is. Maria and Jose are old enough to remember, but Johnny..." She sighed and took her eyes away from his. "He'll grow up without a father..." When she looked back at him, she had tears in her eyes. "And then there's the house...I don't want to raise my children in a house like this. When Johnny was with us, he brought in money for food, heat, everything. Now that he's gone, we're running out of money fast and-" She stopped herself. "Oh Seto, I'm sorry for ranting like this to you..."

"Oh, I understand." He said quietly. "It must be hard raising three children by yourself. I've raised my brother, Mokuba, but I had help...." _"Lots of help" _he thought.

"Mr Kaiba...I mean, Seto, thank you for coming. It means a lot that you apologized."

"Oh please, don't thank me. I don't deserve it...but a think I know a way I can help to make up for it. Are you still going to celebrate Christmas this year?"

"Oh..." She looked away. "Christmas is going to be a little tight this year."

Seto smiled as an idea formed in his head.

Serenity

"A girlfriend?!" Serenity cried over the phone. "How can he have a girlfriend?!"

"Well, he is a very attractive man..." Tea said softly.

"Yeah, but he just took me out to dinner three days ago. Are you certain about it? Could it have been his mother or someone?"

"Serenity, his mother's dead. Tell me, did he ever give any hints that it was a date?"

"He...offered me his coat..."

"He was just being a gentleman."

"He let me kiss him..."

"He probably didn't know what you were going to do..."

"Oh...what's her name?"

"Karen."

"I'll bet she's beautiful...far more beautiful than I'll ever be...do you think that's why Seto doesn't like me?"

"Don't talk like that, Serenity. You don't need him."

"You know what? I don't."

Now, doesn't everyone hate Tea? Doesn't she just go around messing up everyone's life? K, I thought so. In case you couldn't understand, Karen is Seto's driver's wife, you know, the guy that was killed in the car accident. And with that said, I remind you: REVIEW!!!


	16. The truth

Chapter 16 The Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugi-Oh

Serenity

The next day, Serenity stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She had decided when she had gotten off the phone with Tea that she wouldn't let this bother her. It was his loss anyway, she told herself, although she kept catching herself thinking of him, and this made her angry with herself. The fact that she couldn't get him out of her head when he had obviously forgotten all about her made her hate herself.

"Why can't I do this?" She asked, flopping on her bed. "I've been through worse things than this. And...it's not like we were actually going out. No...we weren't..." but she kept picturing his beautiful sapphire eyes, and the more she thought about it, the worse she felt. At first, she tried to look on the positive side. "Well...there are people far better than him that I can date..." but then she realized it. "...no...there's not. Kaiba was the best there was..."

The phone interrupted her thoughts. She picked it up and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hello, is this Serenity?"

"Yes, who is this."

"Seto." he said. Her heart skipped a beat.

"...S-Seto? Why are you calling me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you still wanted to go out again. I mean, we did have a good time at dinner the other night, and well...you did kiss me and all." He cleared his throat.

"Yes but..." She couldn't decide what to do next. Should she hang up on him? Should she ask him about Karen? Or maybe she should act like she didn't know anything about it. No, that wouldn't do.

"But what? Do you not want to go to dinner with me again?"

"No, it's not that...Tea...Tea told me something."

"Tea? I saw her yesterday."

"Yes, and she saw you. She said that you two talked."

"We did."

"And...you bought flowers."

"I did. Where is this leading to?"

"Well...she said that...you bought flowers...for a girl named Karen..."

"Yes. What about her?"

"Well, why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend when I went out with you. If you had just told me, I still would've gone."

"Girlfriend?" Sudden laughter broke out over the other line. "Serenity, Karen's not my girlfriend!" There was more laughter.

"She...isn't?"

"Of course not! She's the wife of my ex-driver!"

"...So...why would you buy your ex-driver's wife flowers?"

"To say I'm sorry for the loss of her husband. Serenity, when I was in the car accident, my driver was killed. Karen's his wife. I wanted to apologize."

"...I'm going to kill Tea..." She said. Seto laughed.

"I wouldn't do that. So, are we still up for a...what was it? Not-a-date?" Seto asked. Serenity decided to try her luck.

"No, but I'd be glad to go on a real one." She said, praying that he liked her the way she liked him.

"...When?"

"Um..." she thought for a second. "How about...Thursday? Joey has to work then, and he won't know I'm gone."

"Thursday it is, then." Seto chuckled. "Karen...really. She's probably seven years older than me."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Serenity laughed. "Tea just called me raving about how you had found another girlfriend."

"I think Tea needs to...ah, never mind. Look, I'm going to let you go now. What time on Thursday?"

"Mm...How about eight. Joey works from seven to ten."

"Okay. I'll...see you then."

"Yeah...bye." They hung up, and Serenity screamed with happiness. He _didn't _have a girlfriend...and they were going on a real date! Nothing could mess this up now, because now she knew that he really liked her. Seto Kaiba liked _her!_

Short? I know. But hey, at least I got it done. Next chapter will be up soon. Once again, thanks for reviewing! We almost have 100 reviews! Yay!

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a Teabasher, I just wanted to put in someone who the readers could hate. And, Tea seemed like the perfect candidate.


	17. Three words

Chapter 17 Three words

Disclaimer: Okay, now let's say it together so you'll get the idea: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!

Gvbh gvbh bnh bhn bhnj jnb hhhhi8ujkukijknmnm jj ---- See this? This is the result of all the head banging I had to do for this chapter. Do you know how many ideas I went through for where they'll go on their date? Gah! Evil writer's block!!! By the way, this has some MAJOR oocness from Seto.

Serenity.

It was almost eight. Serenity paced the floor, waiting for Seto to show. She was wearing a white, long sleeved shirt with a navy blue sweater over it, blue jeans and boots. Seto had called earlier to tell her that they would be going to a coffee shop. Romantic? No, not exactly, but then, it was Seto after all.

He arrived promptly at eight, and met her at the door with a beautiful bouquet of red roses, which she put in a vase, and a kiss on the cheek. Dressed casually in a white shirt, blue pants and his signature blue trench, he looked more than good. He was the true image of perfection.

"So, are you ready to go?" He asked taking her hand. She smiled and nodded. How could she have ever thought this wonderful man could two-time her? She felt guilty for doubting him. It was, once again, snowing, and the warmth of Seto's limo was nice. She laid her head on his shoulder. He smelled good. J He was wearing some sort of cologne.

"You look nice tonight," he said softly. "You look good in regular clothes...not that you look bad in evening wear, but...you get the picture."

"Yeah, I do. Thank you, Seto." she smiled. "You look good too."

"Thanks." He said, smiling. They sat in silence for a minute, but words weren't needed. It was comfortable to just sit and relax with him, and the ride ended sooner than she would've liked it to.

There was only one other couple there, sitting in the back. Seto ordered a black coffee, and Serenity ordered a French Vanilla cappuccino. She had brought her own money, but Seto, being a gentleman, insisted that he would pay. They sat down and sipped their drinks. Seto cleared his throat.

"Hey um…Serenity? There's something I need to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Okay, I know this may be kind of sudden...you know, with Christmas right around the corner...and I know that after the Karen incident you probably don't really want to have anything to do with her...but..."

"But what?"

"Serenity, she's...poor. I have nothing against her, in fact, I feel like I owe her, but her house is cold, and this year her children aren't going to get anything for Christmas. This bothers me to know that she can't afford to buy gifts for her and her children. I think you get what I'm saying."

"I think I do, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, I want to do something for them for Christmas. I mean, I could just get them a couple of gifts, but that just doesn't seem like enough. I want to do something meaningful. Something they won't forget. I know what I'm going to get them, but feel like I can do more. Plus…I want to get Karen something, but I just can't decide what to get her. Would you like to help me? I can understand that maybe you wouldn't want to…but…"

"Of course I will!" she said. "Oh, Seto, I think it's a wonderful thing that you're doing, helping these people! Seto, I'd love to help you. Just tell me what I can do."

"Could you come with me sometime this weekend to look for something to get Karen?"

"Sure! What do you have in mind to get the children?"  
"Well, her daughter, Maria has a tattered doll. I wanted to maybe get her a newer one. Jose, her oldest son, loves art. He's very good for his age, and I was thinking about getting him an art set. And Johnny…" he looked at the mug of coffee in his hands. "What I'm going to get him is a surprise."

"Okay, I'll shop with you this weekend." She said. "Will I get to meet them?" she asked. Seto nodded.

"Of course. I'll introduce you to them. I think you'll really like them, they're a really good family." He sighed sadly. "They deserve so much more."

Serenity nodded. She understood, even if Seto didn't see it. He deserved so much more than the reputation that he had. There was so much more to him than Joey thought. If only people could see it…

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine." She said. "I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"Nothing…" she said absently.

"Are you sure, because if there's something you want to talk about…"

"No," she smiled. "I'm okay." She looked into his eyes. "You know, when I first met you, I wasn't sure of you, but now, getting to know you, I realize that there's a lot more to you than meets the eye."

He smiled. "I guess you just have to get to know me, right?" he said, holding her gaze.

"Yeah." she looked down into her cappuccino.

"Why do you look so melancholy? Isn't this supposed to be a date?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "It is. Don't worry about me, Seto, I'm fine." She looked at him intently. "What is it that makes you want to go out with me?" she asked. Seto looked into his coffee.

"You know…I'm not really sure…it's just…there's something about you that I really like. I…I think it's because you don't hang all over me like most girls, and you don't just like me for my looks. You actually wanted to get to know me."

Serenity smiled. "I like you, Seto. I really do. It's not just the way you look that makes me like you so much. There's something about the way you act. You seem so aloof sometimes, but then…other times…" she sighed dreamily. "you're just so…perfect…"

He smiled and looked down. "Well…nobody's perfect." He stirred what remained of his coffee. Serenity took a sip of hers.

"Thank you for taking me on a date, Seto. This is really nice. But…where's Mokuba? I mean, I wasn't expecting him to come, but our date seems a little quieter without him."

"He's staying at a friend's house." He shrugged. "He set us up, you know."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, he invited you without telling me. At first, I was kind of angry…but when I saw you walk through that door…" he faded out and shook his head. "You get the picture, right?"

"Mmhmm…I thought it was kind of strange that he would call me an invite me instead of you calling me yourself, but then I guess I was just blinded by the thought that 'Wow! I'm going to dinner with 'the' Seto Kaiba!'"

Seto laughed. "Since when does my name have a 'the' in front of it?" Serenity smiled and shrugged.

"I don't know. That's just what I thought."

They continued to talk and laugh through the whole date, and lost track of time. Before they knew it, it was nine-thirty, and they had to leave. L During the ride home, Seto kissed her on her cheek, and when they got to her house, there, on the doorstep, he tilted her head up to his, and put his lips to hers. Her arms went around his neck, and she stood on her toes to meet him. He put his arms around her waist and pulled him close to her. When they finally let go he leaned down and whispered three words into her ear.

"I love you."

Okay, there's some stuff I need to talk about. First off, I'm going to be in Disney World July 2nd thru July 12th, so I won't be able to update. Also, I know that was kind of ooc of Seto…okay, majorly ooc, but this is my story, and I say that he loves her. And what I say goes. (lol, just kidding) Anyway, I know this was short and not exactly my best chapter, but my two male cousins are down, and they're saying stuff like "and then he pulls out a sniper rifle and shoots her" so I cant' get think very well. I wanted to get something done, though, so I could tell you guys about Disney World so you wouldn't think I abandoned you. Well, anyway, thanks for all the reviews! Love ya lots!


	18. Bliss

Chapter 18 Bliss

Wow…chapter 18...it's hard to believe I've made it this far. I'd just like to thank everyone who read my story and reviewed. It made me feel really great to know that you like it. Anyway, thanks everyone.

Disclaimer: Geeze, 18 chapters and the lawyers still don't get the fact that I don't own Yu-Gi- Oh! They're about as dense as my Yami.

"Hey, I heard that!"

er…well, let's get on with the story…

Seto

Seto smiled to himself as he was riding home in his limo. Memories from earlier that night still hung with him.

Flashback! (wooh!)

"I love you." Set whispered. Serenity met his eyes, seeking the truth.

"You…do?"  
"Yes, Serenity," He said, putting one hand to the side of her beautiful face. Leaning down, he met her lips with his. She put her hand on his cheek as he deepened the kiss, and had to grab onto the railing for support, for it left her weak. As if sensing her unsteadiness, Seto grabbed her around the waist and held her.

She felt warm and safe against him. "I love you, too." she said, closing her eyes. Seto stroked her hair for a minute before she spoke. "But…we can't tell Joey…" She whispered.

"Of course." He whispered back. He pulled away and looked into her stunning eyes. "Perhaps I should leave…someone you know might see us and tell your brother. Then what would we do?" He started to turn away, but Serenity caught him by the sleeve. He turned around. Standing as high as she could go, Serenity kissed him.

If Seto was shocked at her daring move (for most girls he knew would wait for him to kiss them) he couldn't show it. He found himself kissing her back, even more passionately than before. Finally, they broke apart, and Seto looked at the ground.

"I'll, um…see you Saturday then." (well, that was romantic)

"Yeah, see you then" She said. He turned and walked towards the car. When he got in, he stared back at her, even if she didn't know it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

End of the Flashback

Seto was still smiling stupidly when they pulled in front of his house. At first, he expected to see Mokuba waiting for him at the door, but then he remembered that he was staying with a friend. He would have to tell him later.

K, I know it was really really short, but I wanted to get this chapter out before I go. So anyway, hope you like it!

See that little button down there? Doesn't it just scream "Press me! Press me!"?


	19. The Secret's out

Chapter 19 The Secret's out.

Disclaimer: Hey everyone, I'm back, and I've gotten so much done you won't believe it! But I'm putting it up one chapter at a time, sorry. Anyway, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Lord and Taylor's

"Hey, Serenity, you'd look cute in this." Seto said, holding up lingerie. Serenity blushed and snatched it from him. It was Saturday, and they were shopping in Lord and Taylor's for a gift for Karen.

"Seto," She shook her head and hung the lingerie back up. "That would make a nice gift, and I'd love to see how red you turn when Karen opens it, but do you really think she needs it? From what you tell me about her, it sounds like she could use a nice coat, something warm, but also endearing."

"Well, you're the expert." He shrugged. "But I still say you'd look good in it. Maybe I should get it for you for Christmas."

"Oh…" Serenity turned to face him. "Seto, please don't get me anything. I don't think I can afford to buy something for you this year…what, with Joey and all."

"I understand, you don't have to buy me anything." He whispered, hugging her.

"Okay, thank you, Seto…now, let's get something for Karen."

They went over to the coats.

"Hey! Look at this one!" Seto said, examining a trench coat. "Do you think Karen would like it?"

Serenity rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I think that would scare her children. What about this?" She held up a cream colored coat. Seto looked from the trench to the other and shrugged.

"I think she'll love it."  
The coat was $125.00, which was no problem for Seto. He paid for it and they left.

"Thank you for doing this." Seto said as they got in the car. "You don't know how much this is going to mean to Karen."  
"It's no big deal." She said, smiling.

"Where to, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Serenity's house. You remember the way?"

"Yes, sir."  
"Thank you." Seto said, then turned back to Serenity. "God, I love you…" He said, kissing her cheek. She smiled and ran her hand through his soft, brown hair.

"I love you, too." She said, smiling. A few minutes later, they were at Serenity's house. She got out, but froze. Joey was standing on the porch with his arms crossed. Tristan was beside him, looking just as angry.

Seto got out of the limo to see what was wrong.

"Uh-oh…looks like the secret's out…" he said, taking her hand.

Ooh! Cliffie! K, I know everyone hates me, but don't worry, I have the next chapter written, and it will be up soon. Love ya! Oh, and if you're ever going to Disney World, I recommend riding Rockin' Roller coaster and Mission Space.


	20. Torn

Chapter 20 Torn

Disclaimer: You know, I think everyone already knows that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. So, I'm pretty much just wasting time and space writing this. If everyone knows, why should I have to write it? Oh well…

K, I know that everyone was just dying of suspense, isn't that right?

Everyone shakes heads. "No, not really."

Well…I'm putting this chapter up anyway, just because I feel like it.

"Joey…you-you're supposed to be with Mai…." Serenity said, not moving. Joey's face went from white to red in a flash.

"And you're supposed to be at home!" He shouted. Serenity had never seen him so angry in her life, and that included when they had found out about their parent's divorce. "What are you doing with _him_?"

"Joey, I can explain…wait! How did you know that I was with him. I'm sure you wouldn't have left Mai's for any small reason."

"Tristan called Mai's cell phone and asked to speak to me. At first, I didn't want to believe him when he said he had seen you and Kaiba together, and I didn't want to believe it when you weren't home, but now… I've caught you!" he glared at Seto. "And you!" He shouted, his face turning from red to maroon. "What are you doing with my sister?!"

"I'm…her boyfriend." He stated manner-of-factly.

"Yeah, right. My sister has better taste that than. There's no way she would go out with the likes of you. Now! Get away from her!"

"Tristan…" Serenity looked at him coldly. "Why did you do this?"  
"Why do you think? Serenity, how do you think it makes me feel to see you in the arms of…of…him?" He asked, his voice full of hate.

"Well, Tristan, I think it's really none of your business. You're not my brother, so you shouldn't have even bothered with us."

"It very well is my business!" Serenity…" Tristan looked her in the eyes. "I…I really care about you." He blushed. Serenity felt Seto put his arm around her.

"Tristan…what? When?"

"When you let me put my arm around you in the hospital. I…thought that you…" he looked away. Joey, who had been preoccupied by Tristan's confession, finally looked back at Seto and noticed his arm around her.  
"Get away from my sister!" He shouted and lunged at Seto, his fist balled. Seto moved, causing Joey to hit his limo. His knuckles cracked against the hard surface, and he howled in pain. "Serenity! Did you see what he just did to me?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Seto glared at him. "You tried to hit me. I just moved and let you go at your own will."

Before Serenity could stop him, Joey was on his feet again, and this time he didn't miss. His fist came in contact with the side of Seto's face, sending him stumbling backward. ( aw, poor Seto L ) Tristan stayed back where he was so as not to get in the middle of it. He couldn't risk getting beat up in front of Serenity. That would be embarrassing. Plus, she would think he was a wimp. Serenity threw her arms around Joey's stomach to keep him from attacking him again.

"Let me go!" Joey struggled.

Seto stood up and was about to strike Joey, but Serenity placed herself in between them.

"Stop!" She shouted. Both guys stopped and stared at her. "Seto…I love my brother…but Joey, I love Seto, too." She said, turning to Joey. "I love him…as much as you love Mai."

"No! That's different. Don't you dare compare my love for Mai to this…this…fling you're having with Kaiba!"

"Wheeler!" Seto got around Serenity and was right in Joey's face. "The relationship between Serenity and me is not a fling! It's love!"

"Serenity doesn't love you!" Tristan said, finally getting in on the conversation. "She doesn't know the real you!"

"This is the real me!" Seto shouted. They began fighting again, this time, with Tristan.

"Guys!" Serenity tried to break them up, but ended up getting knocked to the ground.

"Serenity!" All three guys said in unison. (can you picture it?) Tristan and Joey glared at Seto. "Look at what you did!" They all at the same time again.

"It's just as much your fault as it is mine." Seto leaned down next to Serenity and took her hand. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yes…" she stood up with the assistance of Seto.

"Kaiba! If you hadn't been here, my sister wouldn't have gotten hurt!" Geeze, can you say overprotective brother? "You know how fragile she is!"

"Joey, I'm not sick anymore, I don't need you watching over me 24/7! And who I date is none of your business."

"Serenity, don't you use that tone of voice with me! I am older than you, and therefore it makes me your authority!"

"Serenity…" Seto turned to her. "I…I have to go." He kissed her softly on the lips (much to the surprise of Joey and Tristan.) He got in his limo and left without so much as a goodbye. Serenity turned to her brother after watching the limo drive away.

"…I hate you…" She said, her voice quivering with anger. Serenity fled into the house and up to her room, making sure to lock the door. She threw herself on the bed, sobbing.

Okay, who hates Lover of Seto Kaiba?

Everyone: I do!

'Me too!'

Shut up, Helios, no one asked you. And don't worry, it gets better. Also, please don't hate Joey. As you know, it is very easy to confuse him, and he just doesn't understand how Serenity can love Seto. If you're going to hate anyone, hate Tristan for telling on them!


	21. Of unlocked doors and promises

Chapter 21 Of unlocked doors and promises

Disclaimer: Ugh, I wrote this chapter after six hours on the road in a van with 10 other people in it, but I still got it finished. When I got this far, I hadn't even gotten to Florida yet. It was miserable. I don't own

Yu-Gi-Oh.

"Serenity?" Joey knocked on her door. "Serenity, open the door. We need to talk to you."

She said nothing, but continued sobbing into her pillow.

"Serenity, it's Tristan. Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"No!" She shouted hatefully.

"Serenity, please talk to me…" Joey knocked on the door again. "I'm worried about you!"

"Go away!"

"Serenity, you don't understand. Kaiba's a bad person, he's the type who only cares for himself. He's…Serenity, please just trust me, you don't want to go messing with him. I learned that the hard way when we dueled him.

"But this isn't a duel, Joey! When will you get it through your thick skull? I love Seto, and he loves me!"

Joey sighed and pulled a penny from his pocket. He slid it into the flat keyhole and turned it. Serenity could see the lock turning.

"Serenity," Joey said, stepping into her room. "I was the one who taught you how to unlock this door from the outside, remember?"

Tristan timidly walked into her room and looked around in awe. (You _know _that he has to be in heaven!)

Serenity turned away from them and looked out the window. The tree was outside her window was covered in snow.

"Come on Serenity." he sat down on her bed and touched her cheek. "He can't have meant that much to you…"

"Joey…how do you feel about Mai?"  
"We've been over this. Me an' Mai have a relationship stronger than anything. You and that…person have nothing. Kaiba is a man who has no feeling except hatred."

"He told me he loves me…"

"Serenity, don't you understand? Kaiba was probably just using you to get back at me."

"Seto would never do that…" She whispered. "When he kisses me…"

"Kisses? As in…more than once?!" Joey turned that strange shade of purple again.

"Yes." She said defiantly.

"G…J…Mom!" Joey ran downstairs. Tristan, unsure of what to do next, followed, closing the door behind him. Serenity picked up the phone.

Okay, that was going to be the end of this chapter, but I figured that it would be way too short, so I added the next chapter. It fits anyway.

That night, Seto returned to his office. What a fool he had been, to let some woman get between him and his work. And not just any woman: Serenity Wheeler! How could he have been so stupid? How could he have thought that he could have a relationship with the sister of the friend of his biggest rival.

But then…she had seemed so…different. She wasn't like all the other girls who hung all over him. She was just…different…and he liked that.

His fingers typed quickly, trying to finish. He would be up after midnight once again, and all because he had been blinded by Serenity.

Mokuba was downstairs, shivering slightly. What had just happened? He had gone upstairs to ask his brother how his day with Serenity had gone, and he replied curtly "It's over. Now go and don't bother me right now!"

"Brother…" Mokuba said out loud as he sat downstairs "What happened?" All that he had worked for, trying to get Seto to be happy. Had been blown in a single day. Seto didn't know how long he had been looking for someone for him, and Serenity had seemed so perfect…

Seto was typing away, not even half way through the document, when the telephone rang. He instinctively picked up while typing with his other hand.

"Kaiba residence." he rested the phone on his shoulder and continued typing.

"…Seto?" A soft, timid voice said his name. It was her voice. Seto stopped typing and almost dropped the phone.

"S-Serenity!" he gasped. "What are you doing calling me? Won't Joey blow a fuse?"  
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." She whispered.

"Oh, Serenity…" Seto breathed. "I'm so sorry about what happened today…"

"It's not your fault. She said softly. Seto breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't blame him…

"So…is this the end of our relationship?" Seto asked, even though he was utterly scared of what the answer might be.

"I don't know…I don't want it to be. I still love you, Seto."

"I love you, too. And Serenity, I promise, I'll find a way for us to be together. I promise…"


	22. He will remember

Chapter 22 He will remember

Hey everyone. I've been updating all my stories today, so I figured "why not update this one, too?" Anyway, I'm going to skip forward to Christmas Eve, which I've pretty much been mentioning through my whole story. Hope that's okay with everyone…wait, what am I saying? It's my story! I can do with it as I like.

Disclaimer: (Does Gollum voice) Heelllloooo, precious….do I own Yu-Gi-Oh yet?

Helios: Stop that! You know I hate that voice. And no, you don't. And neither do I.

It was Christmas Eve, the night that Seto was supposed to bring his presents by Karen's house. He wanted Serenity to be with him though. So that night she locked her door. (Hoping to give Joey the idea that she didn't want anyone in, placed a couple of pillows under her sheets to give the illusion that she was asleep in bed (incase he came in anyway) and climbed down the tree outside her window. She had called Seto before she left, and eight minutes later, he arrived to pick her up and take her to Karen's house.

"Um, Serenity," Seto said as they were riding in his limo. "I'm planning on throwing a party on New Years Eve. It was really Mokuba's idea, but what can I say? I can't disagree with him Anyway, I was wondering in you'd be able to sneak out of your house again and come."

"Uh, I don't see why I wouldn't be able to. Joey doesn't suspect a thing." They had arrived at Karen's house by now.

Seto knocked on the door. As Serenity looked around, she realized that Seto hadn't been lying when he said they had little money. She felt sorry for them already.

Karen came to the door. She was dressed in a wool sweater and sweatpants. She smiled at them.

"Oh, hello Seto. We've been waiting for you to get here. Who's this?" She asked.

"This is my girlfriend, Serenity." He said proudly. Karen smiled at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Serenity. Please, please, come inside! She said, welcoming them in. Seto brought in the presents.

After opening it, Karen held the coat lovingly. "Oh, Seto, it's wonderful! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me, Serenity was the one who picked it out."

"Thank you, Serenity." She said happily.

"Mamma! Mamma!" Maria jumped up and down, a beautiful china doll in her arms. "Look, mamma! She has real hair and real eyelashes!"

"Oh, she's beautiful. Don't forget to thank Seto for it."

"Thank you, Seto!" She hugged him.

"Wow! Look, an art set! Mamma, it comes with a foldable easel, paint, and water colors! Thank you, Seto!"

"It's really no problem. Um…Serenity…" Seto turned to her. "I got something for you, too."

"But I thought-"

"No, I don't want anything in return for this. I just…want you to have it, to remind you of me. Since we can't be together very often anymore, I just wanted to get you something special…" he pulled a rectangular box from his pocket. "Please take it…"

"Um…" She opened it and found a stunning necklace. It had a ruby heart in the center, and on the outside it was surrounded by tiny diamonds. She picked it up and looked it over. On the back were the initials S.K.

"To remind you of me." he said, smiling. Serenity threw her arms around him, and he assisted her in putting it on. Maria smiled broadly.

"Are you two going to get married?" She asked coyly. Seto and Serenity looked at each other and smiled sheepishly.

"Um…I also…have a gift for Johnny…" He said somewhat awkwardly. "At first, I wasn't sure what to get him, but then I figured that he could use something like this." He sat a square present down in front of the little boy. Johnny squealed and picked it up. He put the corner into his mouth and chewed on the edge as drool dribbled onto the paper.

"Here…" Serenity sat down next to him. "Let me help." She took his hands and help him make a tear in the paper. He squealed with delight and tore another piece off. Seto smiled slightly.

It was a scrapbook. On the cover was a picture of Karen's husband. Karen gasped.

"Johnny," Seto leaned down next to him. "Do you know who this is?" he whispered. Johnny's eyes grew wide as he said his very first word.

"Daddy…"


	23. A broken promise

Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I wrote this while still in Disney World I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

The next day, as everyone knows, was Christmas. Serenity woke up and looked out the window. Most of the snow that was on the tree had melted, and dark storm clouds threatened to pour down rain. She rolled her eyes and grudgingly got out of her warm bed.

"Mom," She said, going downstairs. "Mom, what's with the weather? It looks like it's going to storm." Her mother looked up from the magazine she was reading at the kitchen counter.

"Good morning, darling don't know. It's supposed to rain all week. The weather channel said that the clouds were brought with a warm front. Can you believe it? It's going to rain on Christmas!"

"I know!" Joey came through the kitchen door, toweling off his hair. "Mom, I'm going to go to Mai's house. I have a gift for her. Is that okay?" he put the towel around his neck. "I just took a shower and I want to get over there while I still smell springtime fresh." He said smiling.

"After we open our presents." Their mother said, walking into the living room. She turned and looked at Serenity. "Oh, Serenity, darling, where did you get this necklace?" Her mom touched the chain and pulled it out from under her nightgown. Her eyes widened when she saw the heart.

"Um...Serenity stuttered. "Um...a....friend gave it to me..." She said. She wanted to take the necklace from her mother, but then she'd get suspicious. So she just stood there, a feeling of dread coming over her as her mother looked the necklace over.

"Serenity, 'friends' don't give you something like this..." she turned it over and looked on the back. Serenity closed her eyes and waited for it. And it happened. Out loud, and right in front of Joey, she said what seemed to Serenity like the loudest she could "Who's got the initials S.K?"

Joey dropped the present he was in the middle of opening. "Serenity!" he stood up. "When did he give that to you?!"

Now, she could've lied, and saved her necklace, but she felt like she had lied to him enough. He was her brother, and she loved him. What was she supposed to do? "Yesterday. I snuck out yesterday with him and he gave me this necklace as a Christmas gift..."

"What am I missing? Who are we talking about here?" Their mother asked, confused.

"Mom! Serenity's been seeing Seto Kaiba, even though I told her she can't!"

"Joey, Serenity can date whoever she wants..."

"Not Kaiba! He's the guy that tried to kill me, Yugi an' Tristan in the Death-T!" Joey had to point out. Serenity knew if she didn't say something, her mother would immediately judge him wrongly. She knew she couldn't change Joey's mind, but maybe her mom would be more lenient. After all, she didn't even know Seto

"That was a long time ago, Joey! He's changed now!" She pleaded, although she knew trying to tell this to Joey was like talking to a brick wall..

"That psycho will never change!" He argued. "Mom, he's a crazy lunatic who's only using Serenity!"

"You don't know that Joey! You know him like I do. He's-"

"Serenity...it...doesn't seem like you should be seeing this man anymore..." Her mother said quietly. "I mean, you have to admit, Joey is a pretty good judge of character..." (Yeah, right.) Serenity's eyes filled with tears. Even her own mother was against her!

"And I'll take this!" Joey grabbed the necklace by the ruby heart and ripped it from around her neck. The chain shattered, and Joey stood there, holding the broken necklace in his hand.

"Uh...Serenity," he stuttered. " I...I didn't mean to break your-" But before he finished, she whirled around and ran upstairs.

Seto

Seto propped his feet up on the coffee table and smiled as he watched Mokuba gleefully open one of his many presents. The younger Kaiba was jumping up and down, clutching his new game boy advanced sp Seto had bought him to replace the one he had broken when he dropped it in the bathtub.

"Thank you, Seto!" he said happily. Seto shrugged.

"It's no problem, Mokuba-" The telephone rang. "Kaiba residence." Seto said after he picked the phone up. Over the phone, he heard Serenity's voice, but there was something wrong. Her voice was choked, as if she had been crying.

"S-Seto..." She said, resisting the urge to break down in tears again.

"Serenity, are you okay?!"

"Oh, Seto! I'm so sorry!" she sobbed. She started talking, but through her crying he couldn't understand her.

"Calm down, Serenity! Now, tell me again, slowly this time."

She took a deep, quivering breath. "I'm so sorry....Joey....found out that I snuck out last night and he won't let me leave the house. He says he's going to keep an eye on me...I won't be able to make it to your party. He'll know. Please forgive me, I'm sorry."

"Serenity, it's okay." He said, although his heart was broken. Mokuba looked at him questionably. "It's not your fault."

"There's...one more thing." She said, pausing to catch her breath. "Joey...broke the necklace you gave me..."

"Oh, Serenity, that's okay. It was just a necklace."

"I know...but..."

"Hey!" Joey interrupted them. "Okay, you've told him you won't make it. Now, get off of the phone!"

"I love you..." She said, loud enough for Joey to hear.

"I love you too, and I promise, I haven't given up...Goodbye..."

After hanging up, Mokuba immediately started probing him with questions. "Is Serenity okay? What happened to her? Why do you look so sad? What happened to the necklace?"

"Um...Mokuba...Serenity's not going to be able to make it to the New Year's Eve party..." Seto mumbled.

"Why?"

"...Joey." Was all he stated.

Okay, I think everyone's going to LOVE the next chapter. I won't tell you anything about it, except that there's a lot of love in it. Don't worry, I'll update soon. Sorry this chapter was so short, but I promise, the next one will be longer. I think....


	24. The Plan

Chapter 24 The plan

Disclaimer: _"la la la. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!"_

"Oh God, she's singing...Mortals! Cover your ears!"

I decided to put this chapter up today, also. I just couldn't wait. I hope you like it, it's supposed to be like...the BIG moment. Well, anyway, please review.

"Serenity, please come out!" Joey rapped on her door. "It's New Years eve!" he was really beginning to worry about her. She had barely been eating, and she looked sick all the time. For almost a week, she had only left her room for meals. What had Kaiba done to her? (No, she's not pregnant, you nasty minded perverts!)

"Serenity, it's Mai. Don't you want to come out to celebrate the New Year? It's only ten minutes until twelve!"

"No! Please, just leave me alone!" she shouted. She heard Joey mumble something.

"Okay, we'll go downstairs. I do wish you'd come down, though." Mai said and the they were gone.

Serenity felt worse than she ever had before in her life. Across the city, across the freezing rain and the rushing traffic, Seto was throwing his New Years party. He was probably having so much fun he'd forgotten all about her. This made her feel even worse.

For she loved him. She loved him so much it hurt that she couldn't be near him. She would give anything just to be able to have him hold her in his arms. She would give up anything to be with him. She would give up her room, all her belongings...hell, she would give up her eyesight again just to be with him. They'd survive. Somehow...they would survive.

The rain was pouring, coming down is sheets and flooding the roads in the lower part of the city. She stared out at the gloomy weather, and had to turn away. It was just too depressing

Something hit her window. At first, she dismissed it as something the wind blew in, until it happened again. And again. Her heart almost stopped and, scraping up the remainder of her courage, she went to the window to investigate. She could see nothing through the window's glare and the shadowy tree, but when she opened it, a clammy white hand covered her mouth to stop the scream that leapt to her throat.

Seto emerged from the shadows, and Serenity peeled his cold hand off of her face. Quickly, she pulled him into her room through the window. He was soaking wet straight to his skin and freezing, but she didn't care. She peeled his dripping trench coat off and held him against her, soaking herself.

"I had to see you." He said, pressing his lips to hers. He kissed her greedily, making up for the time they had been apart. His hand winded into her hair, and she welcomed his tongue. She laid back on the bed, pulling him over her. He kissed her neck, savoring the taste of her.

"What...what about your party?" She asked. She would have preferred if they didn't have to stop, but she had to know.

"I left. Mokuba's old enough to run things...I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to see you. I thought I'd go mad if I didn't. My limo's parked around the corner. I knew that if I pulled up in that, I'd attract attention." he kissed her lips passionately letting his tongue explore until her knew every detail of her mouth. They were lost in their own world. All that existed was them. That is, until they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"If Joey finds you here, he'll kill you! Hide here, and be quiet!" She snapped, shoving him into the closet.

"Serenity?" Joey walked into her room. "Serenity, what happened to your shirt?" He asked, looking at her wet nightclothes.

"Um...I....took a shower, and I was out of towels...so...my clothes are wet from my skin..."

"Okay...I came to talk to you."

"Oh, um..." She kicked Seto's wet trench under the bed. "Wh-what about?"

"Well...about the way you've been acting...is it...Kaiba?"

"Um..."

"Because you know that I'm jsut doing this for your own good. I love you, Serenity."

"I love you too..." She whispered.

"Well, why don't you come downstairs then? Tristan, Yugi an' Mai are downstairs, and Tea's on her way."

"I don't really want to..." She mumbled. She stole a quick glance at the closet.

"Why? Do you feel alright?" Truth be told, she didn't feel alright. She was tired, and she felt like she was going to be sick, but she figured this was because she was hiding a secret in her closet. (Once again, ppl, she isn't pregnant.)

"I'm fine, Joey. Just go...I think I'm going to bed now...."

"Okay...G'dnight., Serenity."

"Goodnight, Joey..."

After he left, she opened the closet door. Seto kissed her.

"You handled that perfectly." He said, smiling. "And now...I'm sure..."

"Sure, about what?"

"That you can go through with the plan I've concocted."

"You mean, you've figured out a way for us to be together?"

"Yes. You know that I have a helicopter, right?"

"Um...I think that Joey mentioned it once..." She said, shrugging.

"Well, can you meet me at Kaiba Mansion tomorrow?" He asked, his azure eyes pleading with her.

"But...Joey-"

"Forget Joey! Serenity, how are you ever going to live your own life if you have to ask Joey before you do anything? Just sneak out tomorrow before he wakes up. Can you drive?"

"No, but I'll manage. I've seen Joey drive before, how hard can it be?"

"Yeah...well, I thought that...you're not afraid of heights, are you?"

"No, why?"

"Because if you show up tomorrow...we'll leave this place."

"In your...helicopter?"

"Yes."

"But then...I'll never see Joey again...I'll never see my mother, or Yugi....or Tristan..." She whispered. For a second, a shadow passed over Seto's face.

"Well...if you'd rather be with him..." (Ooh! Jealous!)

"No! Seto, it's not like that. I love you, and I want to be with you...but..."

"Come on Serenity! You just said you love me. Is this true?"

"Of course!"

"And I most certainly love you. So what right does your brother have to keep us apart? None! So, will you come?"

"..." Serenity looked around her room. "Okay..." She sighed "Okay, I'll go with you. But Seto....are you sure this is the only way? I mean....Joey's always been there for me, and even though....he doesn't understand....I still love him..."

"Serenity, it's the only way...."

"Okay..." She smiled weakly. Seto sighed with relief and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"I was going to ask you to come tonight, but you look like you could use some rest..." he kissed her again, this time to say goodbye, and then grabbed his trench and left out the window.


	25. Memories

Chapter 25 Memories

Disclaimer: I'm going to let Helios do this one, just because I'm sick of doing these stupid disclaimers. Take it, Helios!

"Gee, thanks, Morgan. Okay, neither lover of Seto Kaiba nor I own Yu-Gi-Oh."

Serenity took one last sorrowful look around her room. Oh, how she was going to miss living here! Her bag was packed to where the zippers were about to pop off, but she still couldn't pack away her whole room. She had, however, made sure to pack a photo album full of pictures of Joey and their friends. She had also remembered to pack all the things that they had gotten her when she was in the hospital. As she looked back on that day, she wondered to herself how she couldn't have noticed that Tristan liked her.

She held the soft teddy bear he had given to her and thought about how he had acted around her in the hospital. It had been so obvious... and yet she hadn't figured it out. She smiled to herself. Had it really been less than a month ago since her operation? Since she had met Seto? Since she had first seen all her friends? She sighed in amazement. It felt like so long ago, and just by the way she felt, she knew she was a lot more mature since then.

As she went through her memories of the past month, her eyes filled with tears, not for the first time since the night before. She was never going to see Joey again. She was never going to be able to talk to Yugi when she was down, or have Mai or Tea to talk to about girl stuff. She would never be able to cry to her mother when things went wrong, or...- She closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath-or have Tristan's shoulder to lay her head on when she needed a good cry. She was giving all this up. For him. Her true love.

And at that thought, all her doubts vanished. She was going to be with Seto, and that was final. No one could tell her who she can and cannot date. She picked up her suitcase and left, resisting the urge to check in on Joey while he was sleeping. She had made sure to leave a note on her bed for each of her friends_._

Dear Joey,

I cannot express in words the joy you have given me over the years. Because of you, I have so many things, not just my eyesight. I have more confidence now than I ever have in my whole life, all because of you. But I regret to say that I am leaving, and I won't be able to ever come back. I am leaving with Seto, and you can't stop me. But I promise, I'll never forget you. I love you so much, and I wish it could be different, but if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's this: Life isn't always fair, and sometimes, you have to make really tough decisions. Goodbye, Joey.

You sister,

Serenity

__

Dear Yugi,

Hello to my dearest friend. You were always there for me when I needed you. You, so kind and considerate of others, are the most precious friend I have, and for that I must thank you. I am sad to say that I won't be able to see you anymore. Joey will tell you the details, but I want you to know that I will miss you so very much.

I'll never forget you,

Serenity

Dear Mai,

I am going to miss you so much. You always had such good advice when I needed it, especially about how I needed to dress to impress my boyfriend. Little did you know that I was dating Seto Kaiba, or I don't think you would've given me that advice. You and Tea are like the sisters that I never had. Thank you.

Your "Sister"

Serenity

Dear Tea,

You are such a good friend. Even if you did get between Seto and me for a while, I still love you like a sister. I hope you forgive me for leaving, but you just don't understand. You and Mai are the sisters I never had.

Your "Sister"

Serenity

Dear Tristan,

Writing this letter is the hardest for me. Maybe if you had just told me how you felt in the first place, it could've saved some heartache for the both of us. But what's done is done, and I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I can understand if you hate me now, for when I went out with Seto I never considered how you might feel, but I never even knew. Maybe if I'd known, things would've been different. But as it is, I am leaving today with Seto, because I love him. I'll miss you, and I hope you'll miss me. I also hope you find someone who loves you as much as you deserve, for you deserve so much more than me. Before I leave, I want you to know that when I was in the hospital, I felt closer to you than I did any of my other friends, and for that moment in time, I thought that something could have happened between us. Goodbye, Tristan.

Thank you for everything,

Serenity

"I'm...sure they have insurance..." Serenity said to herself as she skidded around a corner, causing another car to drive into a vegetable stand. As if driving wasn't hard enough, it had to be raining, too. Ten minutes and another near-accident later, she arrived at Seto's mansion. He already had the helicopter running, and was beckoning her. She got out, but stood up too fast and had to clutch the side of the car for support. After a moment, the spell passed, and she pulled her heavy suitcase out of the car. She made it half way before she realized that the suitcase felt like an anchor.

"What's wrong with me?" She wondered as she started spinning in a multitude of color. And then suddenly...blackness.

Hey everyone. I answer the obvious question raised by this chapter: NO! She is NOT pregnant! And yes, my name is Morgan. (Curses whoever came up with the name Morgan.)


	26. Winning

Chapter 26 Winning

Disclaimer: Well...this is it....the big one. The grand tamale of all disclaimers. The one disclaimer to rule them all. This is like...disclaimer-zillah! Wait, I take that back. This is disclaimer-zillah's mother! I, Lover of Seto Kaiba, the writer on the website that is known as fanfiction, do solemnly swear that, in no way, in this dimension or the next, despite any rumors you may have heard, do not, I repeat DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh, and in no way am I getting paid for this. (Although I'd like to be)

"And neither do I!"-Helios

Even before she opened her eyes, Serenity knew she was in a hospital. It had that oh-so distinct hospital smell, and she could hear the beeping sounds of the heart monitor. She slowly opened her eyes, and, sure enough, she was in the white walled, heavy monitored room. She tried to move her right arm until she realized there was a needle in it pumping orange liquid into it. (IV 'shudders' Oh, how I hate them!)

She looked around and wondered how she had gotten there. At first, she wondered if everything about Seto had been a dream, and she had really just gotten out of her eye surgery, but she immediately dismissed this thought. "That's just the medicine talking" She said to herself. Then, her eyes rested on a brown headed teen sitting in the corner, his head in his hands. Why would someone so young and handsome look so miserable? She sat up. His head snapped up, and Serenity realized that there were unshed tears in his eyes.

"...Seto...what's wrong? What happed? I thought-"

He stood up and rushed to her. "Serenity," He said, leaning down next to her. "Serenity, I'm so sorry!" He cried. "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have made you choose!"

"What happened?" She asked groggily. Seto traced his finger down her cheek.

"You passed out..." he stated. She smiled.

"I know that. But why?"

Seto sighed and his eyes dropped to the ground. "It's all my fault. I pressured you to come. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be in this condition. I'm sorry, and if i could do it over, I would..."

"Seto...what's wrong with me?"

"You were...er...what's the word I'm looking for...I guess...overcome by the circumstances. Tell me Serenity, were you feeling well before you left?" He asked. She could tell by his eyes he was concerned for her.

"Actually, I was feeling a little weak..." She said thoughtfully.

"And I just made it worse. Serenity, I pressured you into coming, and when it was raining, too! I'm so sorry, Serenity! It's all my fault.! I just-" At that moment, the door flew open, and an enraged Joey stormed into the room, his mother behind him, shivering.

"Okay! What happened?!" He asked taking Seto by the collar. "What did you do to my sister?! The hospital called and said you brought her in unconscious! Now speak up, what did you do?!"

Their mother had sunk into quiet sobs beside Serenity. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was so worry, baby! What happened? Why did you leave the house? You knew it was storming, why? Why put yourself at risk, darling?"

"She drove to my house." Seto said, breaking out of Joey's grip. "We were-"

"No," Serenity stood up, wavering a little. Seto rushed to her side. "They're my family. I'll tell them. Mom, Joey, Seto and I were planning to run away together." Her mother paled, and Joey just gaped at them. "You just don't understand! And I don't think you ever will! I love Seto, and he loves me, and there's nothing you can do to stop us."

"So, what? Do you want me to forget everything he's done to me in the past? The way he tried to kill me?"

"Oh, you had to bring that up..." Seto said, rolling his eyes.

"...Or when he called me a dog? I'll never forget that! What about all the times we had to save his ass and that ungrateful jerk just sneered and told us off? I can't ever forgive him."

"Joey..." Serenity sighed. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No..."

"That's what's going to happen if you don't butt-out of our relationship. I choose to be with Seto, Joey. It's my choice...and I choose him." She said, taking Seto's hand.

"Er..." Joey's face was of utter shock. "Serenity....you...you're..." he couldn't seem to be able to make a complete sentence. "I..." he took a deep breath. "How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me..."

"Joey, I do!" She pleaded. "But you need to understand that I love Seto, too. And think about it this way: Wouldn't you have done the same thing for Mai?"

Joey stopped. It was true, he would give up everything for Mai in a heartbeat. "Serenity...do you really love him that much?"

"Yes, Joey, I do. I love him deeper than I've loved anyone in the world. He's so wonderful to me..."

"Well..." Joey looked at Seto. "Do you really love my sister?"

"More than anyone..." he said.

"Okay..." Joey's eyes darkened. "But if you break her heart, I'll break your face." (Some kind of Wonderful. I don't own it! Great movie, though!)

"Joey!" Serenity said, exasperated.

"Fine...fine. Kai- uh...Seto..." Okay readers, this is the part where you all gasp in amazement and say 'he used Kaiba's first name!' "I guess...I guess if you really love her...you can date her. I still don't like you all that much...but you know....I guess it's okay."

Serenity sighed with relief. Seto kissed her on the lips, but Joey broke them apart. "Hey hey hey! None of that!"

Seto glared at him for a moment, but then rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I suppose I can live with that...for now." He turned to Serenity. "I love you so much...."

"I love you, too." She said, hugging him. Her mom pulled on Joey's sleeve.

"Let's give them a moment." She said, starting to leave the room. When they were gone, Seto pulled Serenity into a deep kiss. And this time no one was there to interrupt them. They would be together forever. This is the end of my story, and I leave you with one last remark: Even when things seem their darkest, you can still win. Don't believe me? Just ask Mrs. Serenity Kaiba.

The end.

This is the end. No, really, it is. I'm serious, it is! Stop looking at me like that! Stop! It's over! Well, unless you want to read my alternate ending. I'm thinking of posting it, but I'll warn you here and now: It's a tragedy. I'll let you vote on it. It's really sad, though. My aunt was like "I'm going to kill you." When I read it to her. (She really liked my story. I mentioned her in my thanks. Oh! Thanks! Here we go!

I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who supported me while I wrote this story. I couldn't have made it without the following:

Thanks to:

1. My mom. She was always saying that I needed to complete a story, and when I told her I was going to finish this one, she supported me all the way through. Thank you so much.

2. My Aunt Robin. She was the one who I could read my chapters to and not worry about boring her to death. She took time to listen to my story, and she told me she loved it. Thanks for being there to listen.

3. My friend Nikki and Abbey. They talked it out with me and told me what I should or shouldn't add to my story. Thanks, girls! You rule!

4. My cousins Ty, Clay, (the two male ones who made the rifle comment) and Ashley (she supported my on the Disney trip.) Thanks, cuz's

5. The creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, Kazuki Takahashi, because if it weren't for his brilliant manga and now anime series, this story wouldn't be here. You are a true genius., although I highly doubt you're reading my boring little story right now.

6.My younger sister, Tori. She's six years old and my inspiration. Thank you, Tori. Even though we may argue sometimes, I still love you.

7. Finally, I'd like to thank...you! If it weren't for all my loyal readers out there, I wouldn't have continued this. I know it was kind of boring there for a while, but we still pulled through, and in the end, I'm pleased with the results. Anyway, thank you everyone for reviewing. I love you all.

I will be writing more Seto x Serenity stories, in fact, here's a preview for the one I'm planning on working on next:

After a repulsive date with the famous Duke Devlin, Serenity finds herself soaking wet, alone, and stranded without a ride home. That is, until she meets Seto Kaiba, the rich, arrogant CEO of Kaiba Corp. Will love bloom? Will hatred? And what about Duke? Is he really out of the picture? Don't count on it! The answer to all these questions and more can be found in my newest story.

K, I haven't really thought of a name for it yet, but it'll come to me when I start writing it. But no matter how many stories I write, this will always be my first. I never thought I would get this attached to a story, but now that it's over, I'm sort of sad. You'll probably think I'm a complete idiot, but I almost cried when I finished it. Well, Anyway, thank you everyone for you support, and I love you all. Thank you so much. Goodbye for now.

Your authoress,

Lover of Seto Kaiba

Aka, Morgan.


	27. Alternate Ending: My angel

Chapter 26 Alternate Ending: My angel

Disclaimer: This is the one that my aunt hated, just because it's a tragedy. I didn't put it on because I knew everyone would hate me. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, just the plot.

This is the ending that all my friends hated. Pft, like I care what they think, but I knew that you guys would hate me if this is what happened, and I just can't lose all my faithful readers. Personally, I like this ending better just because it's better written, but you can see for yourself, and decide which ending you prefer.

WARNING: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. IT IS NOT MY FAULT IF YOU HATE IT, YOU READ IT YOURSELF. IT IS A TRAGEDY! DON'T LIKE IT? DON'T READ!!!

Seto's limo pulled up to the black iron gates. Two stone angels stared at him as he passed through, a boquet of red roses in his hands. The mud slushed under his shoes; a light drizzle was falling. As he walked, his mind went back to that day when everything had changed.

Flashback

"What's happening?! What's wrong?" Seto rushed past all the doctors in the hallway.

"I'm sorry, sir, this is the E.R. Only immediate family is allowed in." A nurse told him quietly.

"But I am immediate family! I'm...her brother...Joey Wheeler...".

The nurse looked him over skeptically. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"Listen, lady! Why would I lie about something like this? Please, let me see my sister!" he pleaded. He knew she didn't believe him, but she gave in and started leading him down the hall to Serenity's room.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked outside her room. The nurse put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a look of sympathy.

"Mr. Wheeler...she's dying."

These words didn't register with Seto. Serenity? Dying? For God's sakes, she was 17 years old! How could she possibly be dying? He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. The nurse looked softly at him.

"...How?" Was all he could say.

"Joey, as her brother, I'm sure you're aware of how weak she is..." The nurse started. Seto nodded, and she continued. "It appears she was under extreme stress about something which practically burnt out her body. The freezing rain didn't help either, practically freezing her to death.

"C-can I see her? Seto found himself almost unable to speak.

"Yes...But try not to say anything that will...upset her."

"How long does she have?"

"These are her final minutes."

Seto swalloed and walked into her room. She had two tubes running up into her nose, giving her oxygen, and an orange I.V hooked into her arm. A monitor was checking her heartbeat. It was unusually slow. Setoo had never seen her in such a condition, and he almost had to turn away.

"Seto..." She breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm...so sorry....I...I let you down..." She was having trouble speaking, and she had to take a breath between every few words.

"No..." Seto's voice quivered as his eyes filled with tears. "It's...not your fault...it's mine....I...I shouldn't have made you choose." he started crying. "I love you so much, Serenity! I'll die if you leave me!"

"Seto..." She whispered. "It's okay..." He leaned down next to him so she could be near him. She touched his soft hair. "I know...that I'm dying...and I'm okay with it...I've lived a happy life..."

"But your 17!" He cried.

She smiled softly, sadly. "I said happy...not long..." Seto closed his eyes to stop himself from crying. "Can you do just...one last thing for me?"

"Anything."

"Hold my hand...until it's over..." She whispered. Seto nodded and took her hand. They sat together, reminiscing about the short relationship they had shared. Seto did most of the talking; Serenity was growing weaker by the minute. Over and over, he told her how much he loved her.

Ten minutes later, Serenity died. Seto threw his arms around her and, for the first time in years, sobbed. "I'll love you forever...my angel."

End flashback

Three weeks later, as Set made his way through the rainy graveyard to lay roses on her grave, he was surprised to see another person standing there. The young man's blond hair was damp, as were his amber colored eyes. Seto walked to him, laid the roses on the grave, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes met briefly, and a silent message passed between them. Despite their many differences, they shared one thing in common. They both loved her: Joey as his sister, and Seto as his true and only love. His angel.

The end.

Tell me now: Are you crying? Do you hate me? Do you hate this story? Tell me!


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